On June 3, the Contra Costa County Community College District is asking voters to pay more in property taxes to help build and improve aging facilities. We are encouraging voters to vote “No” on Measure E.
Measure E requires 55% voter approval to pass a $450 million bond which will double the amount of taxes to property owners already pay in added taxes to the Community College District. Currently, property owners pay $13 per $100,000 of assessed home property value from bond measures passed in 2002 ($120 million) and 2006 ($286.5 million).
If Measure E is passed, property owners are now on the hook for $26 per $100,000 assessed value. This means if you home is worth $300,000, you will be paying $78 on top of your standard taxes. If your home is valued at $350,000, you would pay $94 annually. If your home is worth $500,000, you would now pay $130.
This is too much when education is already getting 54% of your property taxes.
When you look at your tax bill, you only see the tax increases voters decided to approve on themselves—such as bonds, assessments and fees. When you look into the 1% tax allocations (not shown on your tax bill) in your Tax Rate Area (TRA), you will see just where your money is going. In most cases, folks in East County pay around 54% of their taxes towards education—including Contra Costa County Community College and the Community College ERAF.
While there are certainly good things that will come from Measure E such as the American With Disabilities (ADA) upgrades along with infrastructure and site improvements, there are too many pet projects that are included which we consider more “wants” than “needs” at this time. These “wants” ultimately ballooned this bond to a $450 million price tag.
For example, included in this bond are the following:
- Modernize or construct a new art building (Diablo Valley College)
- Modernize the physical education complex (Diablo Valley College)
- Construct a new student activities building (Los Medanos)
- Modernize the physical education, gym, and aquatics facilities (Los Medanos)
- Construct new Brentwood Center
- Expend the San Ramon Center, but not limited to: expanded parking; expanded library services; and improvements to classrooms and labs for transfer and career technical programs.
District supporters are selling this to voters as a Bond which will “Our community colleges are an essential safety net – providing education for local students, many of whom cannot afford four year colleges and universities. Measure E makes sure students can continue and successfully complete their educational goals.”
We do not see how building art centers, physical education buildings, gyms, aquatic centers on the backs of homeowners complete educational goals.
Furthermore, the District wishes to construct a new center in Brentwood (likely 10 years out) and expand its San Ramon campus when it acknowledges it cannot even afford what it has today which is why they are going for a third bond. This is not good planning and not responsible leadership.
It would have behooved the District to scale down the project list to reduce the burden on property owners before going out and asking voters for a tax.
While we understand buildings are old and facilities need upgrades, now is not the time for voters to give themselves a third tax hike for the Community College District. Contra Costa County has other priorities that must come first.
The Community College District gets credit in being smart enough in asking for their tax increase first, however, voters will need to prioritize what they wish to pay more for because there is a plethora of hands that will be out coming this November from a potential water bond, transportation/road tax, K-12 school taxes, local community taxes, to even a possible fire parcel tax/benefit assessment.
If the Community College District Bond was the only tax, it’s something to consider, but with all the new taxes being asked of voters, this is not the best place for voters to open their wallets on. Voters must be selective and vote “No” on Measure E.
5 comments
No new taxes for this District. They already have two on the books and a third is getting excessive.
I do not support the community college in this effort as they already get plenty from taxpayers and homeowners. Most people will not benefit from this. Brentwood does not need a new campus regardless of what the elected leaders say. For once I agree with ECT on something political.
ECT right on the money as usual! I love this page. This tax is ridiculous when they are already paying on two bonds already. PE facilities and an aquatic center? Are they for real? Go purchase the right to use the water park in Antioch and reduce the burden on Antioch then instead of asking for more money. They want a gym, go hold classes at a gym like they do on with golf classes at local driving ranges or golf courses. Get creative but stop asking for more money.
As a parent of one in college, and two very close to going, I will say that they have used the facilities for classes in the past (my oldest took more than a few classes at LMJC to accelerate his academic levels in HS). Funny thing is though, they only needed a classroom, some desk/chairs, and maybe some AV equipment here and there. Weird, they actually learned something, and it didn’t involve a gym, pool, track, football field, baseball diamond, volleyball court, or other such infrastructure. Pencil, paper, overpriced text book, desk, chair, room, and a grumpy Professor. Pretty simple really. Why the JC’s need this added infrastructure as opposed to using the less than continuously used aquatic centers and sports facilities we now have in East County is clearly just more anchoring of their over-enhanced facilities they now have.
We focus way too much now on the non-academic aspects of “education”, which is why countries such as Japan, China, India et al are surpassing us on sciences, mathematics, and other learning’s. Sure, sports are necessary for a community, as is arts, music, and humanities in order to have a well rounded culture. But that stuff does not put food on our tables nor solve some of the complex issues we now face in the world. A touchdown is not going to solve our energy problems, and while I enjoy a good double-play as much as the next person, it does not fix the impending doom that may or may not be global warming.
Just say NO!! Two existing bonds on top of all of the other education bonds and they want another? Now that is crazy.
No, No and Hell no!
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