On Measure E, vote to support Sacramento’s affordable community colleges
Community colleges are more important than ever.
With historical stagnation in the minimum wage, widening income disparity and younger generations struggling under unprecedented college debt, affordable education options can provide a critical path to sustainable careers.
The Los Rios Community College District’s Measure E would authorize $650 million in bonds for facilities improvements across the district’s four campuses: American River, Cosumnes River, El Dorado, Folsom Lake and Sacramento City. All are located in Sacramento County.
Property owners within the boundaries of the Los Rios district now pay $23 per for every $100,000 in property value. The funds support facility improvements at Los Rios colleges.
The district’s proposed bonds keep that tax rate the same or lower, and new bonds will supplant old that have reached maturity.
Voters last approved a total of $740 million in bonds for similar uses in 2002 and 2008. Completed projects include permanent instructional space to replace temporary structures and expanded labs and libraries. Bonds also included updates to infrastructure such as ventilation systems. Proposed projects under Measure E include modernizing and expanding classroom spaces across colleges.
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Los Rios says the proposed bonds will be a match for additional state funding if voters also pass state ballot measure Proposition 13. The state measure would authorize $15 billion in bonds for facilities improvements and construction for preschool through university.
The Los Rios district includes all or part of cities including Sacramento, Davis, Elk Grove, and Folsom and parts of Tahoe. That area includes roughly 510,000 households, and about 355,000 are homeowner households.
If passed, residents can engage with a Citizens Bond Oversight Committee.
These would be the first bonds voters approved for Los Rios in more than a decade. Passing Measure E won’t increase your property taxes. The Sacramento Bee Editorial board supports the measure.
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 5:00 AM.