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Measure H, the $388 million community college bond measure, passed easily Tuesday.
Sixty-five percent of voters said yes to giving the San Mateo County Community College District the authority to borrow up to $388 million in the bond market to finance new and updated facilities and to buy equipment, such as computers, for the district’s three campuses.
Fifty-five percent voter approval was required for passage.
Construction and architectural firms and unions gave a total of $234,100 to the Measure H campaign between July 1 and Oct. 22, according to finance reports from the county Elections Office. The San Mateo Community College Foundation gave $50,000.
With all 475 precincts counted, the yes vote was 69,708 and the no vote, 36,832.
Post-election comment
District Chancellor Ron Galatolo was not available for comment on the measure’s passage.
Measure H opponent Maxine Terner, a longtime resident of the city of San Mateo and a former member of the city’s Planning Commission, led a campaign she called “Vote No on Measure H.” Referring to herself as someone who supports public education and has strong beliefs in government accountability and is “proud to pay taxes,” she alleged that the college district was lying about its plans for the $388 million.
The state constitution requires school districts to be specific about their plans for the bond funds, but school districts, including this college district, have complied with this specificity provision by including broadly worded lists of goals.
Asked to comment on Measure H’s passage, Ms. Terner replied via email. “SM County voters once again gave strong support to our local schools,” she wrote. “It will be important that voters get what they were told they were voting for on the ballot & in the numerous political mailers. We hope that the press & local officials who endorsed Measure H will join us to insure that this happens.”
How sad. More of our elderly will be forced out because of taxes. Two huge school bonds last year, two huge water related bonds, now a huge bond for the community college. I think we have to be mindful of senior citizens when we propose and pass these tax increases.
What all these school districts and other government entities need are new bond issues to pay off all the old bond issues that are still being paid off.
“How sad. More of our elderly will be forced out because of taxes.”
And Ebola.
C’mon. Anyone in an MP house for 30 years has such low tax payments, compared to their neighbors…. I’d love to see the looks on the neighbor’s face when the complaints start!
“More of our elderly” How many, exactly, have been forced out?
“More”
Farmville, you are certainly free with other people’s money. I have neighbors who are 86 and 94. They have no retirement and live on Social Security so yet ANOTHER huge school bond is extremely difficult for them. There are many elderly in Menlo Park who are not “rich”. Many of them are hanging on by their fingrnails.