Majority Favors Almost $1 Billion Bond Measure for College District Upgrades
A majority of voters throughout the Riverside metropolitan area appeared willing to approve a bond sale of nearly $1 billion to cover costs associated with upgrades to facilities within the Riverside Community College District, meaning an increase in property taxes to pay off the debt.
The first tabulation of ballots cast indicated about 54% support for Measure CC, which was put before voters in Riverside, Moreno Valley, Norco, Corona, Jurupa Valley and multiple unincorporated communities. Only 55% voter approval is required for the bond sale.
The measure seeks a $954 million sale of general obligation bonds with a duration, or payoff period, of just over three decades. By the time of full debt amortization, the total cost of principal and interest would come to about $1.9 billion, according to ballot materials distributed to the public.
The cost of paying that debt would fall on property owners, whose annual property tax rates would rise an estimated $19 per $100,000 of assessed valuation on individual houses, condominiums and businesses, RCCD officials said.
Supporters noted that older buildings are in need of repairs, with improvements required for labs, water delivery systems, electrical outlets, plumbing, ventilation units, natural gas lines and parking lots.
They also pointed to asbestos and lead paint removal plans, as well as the need to "improve emergency communications systems and accessibility for disabled students."
"Yes on CC allows the district to continue providing low-cost, high-quality education and job training classes close to home," supporters, including Corona Mayor Tom Richins and Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, wrote in campaign literature. "Yes on the measure will keep classrooms safe for learning, addressing urgent, basic and future needs."
Opponents, including local fiscal watchdogs Vivian Moreno and Jason Hunter, complained the measure lacks specificity, leaving open the possibility of the money being spent any number of ways, instead of exclusively on infrastructure and classroom upgrades.
"The only kind of ... details for (the supporters') unknown projects deal with what seem like overdue maintenance projects," the opponents wrote. "We question if the district has actually deferred maintenance to the point of putting its students in danger so as to justify these bonds? While the typical resident struggles to make ends meet as their cost-of-living continues to outpace their wages, the district may build free or subsidized housing for its staff that you will pay for either directly or indirectly."
A similar RCCD bond proposal — Measure A — put before voters in 2020, then seeking $715 million, was rejected.
