CAMPUS
NEWS
UNDER CONSTRUCTION / If approved, Measure L would give the district about half a million dollars for infrastructure projects. / JULIAN REYNOSO / el Don
DISTRICT ASKS FOR NEW BOND
BALLOT: Measure would fund
buildings and repairs on campus
BY CARRIE GRAHAM / el Don
Rancho Santiago Community College
District is asking taxpayers on Tuesday
to fund more than $500 million of
improvements across all three of its
campuses.
Measure L is a bond that would cost the
typical homeowner about $6 per month
with funds going towards a long list of
infrastructure projects to repair or replace
aging facilities at Santa Ana College,
Santiago Canyon College and Centennial
Education Center.
“To continue providing a quality education
to local students, Santa Ana College’s
facilities require basic repairs and upgrades,”
President Linda Rose and RSCCD Chancellor
Marvin Martinez wrote in a joint letter to
taxpayers.
High on the priority list is CEC, which is
housed in temporary buildings on the site
of Centennial Park. After over a decade of
receiving short-term leases from the City of
Santa Ana, the district was granted an 85-year
lease on the property in October 2019, paving
4
el Don Santa Ana College · March 2020
the way for a replacement of the portable
buildings, which have exceeded their lifespan
and regularly flood.
For SAC, the measure would mean a new
Applied Technology Center to house career
education programs for manufacturing,
robotics, welding, automotive technology
and other skilled trade programs.
Also in the plans is a new Fine and
Performing Arts Center to replace the current
Art and Music buildings as well as Phillips
Hall Theatre. There are also plans to update
the existing pool and include direct access to
the locker rooms.
Arianna Castillos, a fourth-year music
student, is looking forward to a new fine arts
complex.
“Upgraded music and art facilities," she said
when asked what is most needed at SAC.
Measure L also seeks funding for both a
parking structure where lot 11 exists and a
parking lot on the east corner of Bristol and
Seventeenth streets, where construction
supplies are now stored.
The bond measure dovetails on Measure Q,
which was approved by voters in 2012. Funds
from Measure Q were used to retrofit Dunlap
Hall, build the new Central Mall and Central
Plant, and pay for construction of the nearly
complete Health and Sciences Building.
RSCCD Assistant Vice Chancellor of Facility
Planning Carri Matsumoto says the new
Johnson Center will open next spring.
Along with significant construction projects,
the district also intends to use funds to repair
leaky roofs, old plumbing, faulty electrical
systems, and replace dry rotted beams, as
well as remove asbestos and lead paint from
older buildings.
At both SAC and SCC, Measure L funds are
expected to be used to increase accessibility
for students with disabilities.
Sidewalks along Bristol and 17th streets
would be widened to accommodate
wheelchair ramps and create direct safe
pathways from the bus stop into campus.
The college also plans to add more
outdoor common areas to encourage
interdepartmental and general collaboration
between students.
If approved, the bond would also
include accountability measures such
as a Citizens’ Oversight Committee and
independent audits.
Matsumoto said there are no set dates for
any of the proposed Measure L projects
because the upgrades are only possible if the
measure passes with more than 55% support.