Measure S: Try Again Soon

SBCC is an incredible community resource for our kids, providing opportunities to learn employable skills and to work toward enrolling in four-year colleges. High school students can take classes to enhance their learning and for college credit. Measure S is well-intentioned, but the proponents are being less than honest. Let’s take a look:

• “Replacing leaky roofs, decaying and aging classrooms.” No argument there! Send me my share of the bill.

• “Maintain access to quality, affordable education for local high school students and veterans.” Yes! Of course. But how exactly does Measure S do that? Why are half of the enrolled students not local?

• “Resurface, replace or relocate hard courts, fields, renovate or replace sports pavilion complex.” How does that relate to the above? A few hundred students actively participate in sports, and most are not local kids! For example, of 81 kids on the football team, 13 are from S.B. and a whopping 55 don’t even live in California!

• “Construct or renovate student housing.” WHAT? Dorms? Is that in the SBCC charter? Is there’s a hidden agenda to grow SBCC into a four-year college? Is encouraging more out-of-town and out-of-state students the right path for our community college?

• Donors to the SBCC Foundation should be concerned about the huge amounts of their money being spent promoting the measure. The Foundation has $4 million to be spent now, with nearly $50 million in reserves! That money is supposed to “provide financial support for college programs including scholarships and rewards, general program support, equipment purchase and capital improvements, and faculty research and teaching activities.” So let’s go!

I am totally in favor of supporting SBCC. The campus is in clear need of fixing. Show me a proposal that funds projects with specific dollar amount with a clear action time frame. Measure S does not do that. Ask me to support an honest proposal that makes sense. I’m voting “no” on Measure S. But please, try again very soon.