Overview: Measure CC is a ballot measure in the Riverside Community College District (RCCD) that aims to repair and upgrade facilities, remove asbestos, mold, and lead paint, and expand training programs. The measure is expected to generate $470 million in local funding to ensure that the SBCCD community has STEM labs, workforce training facilities, and structurally safe classrooms. The measure is similar to Measure C, which was passed 20 years ago and expanded the college district to three colleges. The measure is opposed by some local groups who claim it promises only to issue bonds and spend the proceeds.
Alyssah Hall
Qualified electors of the Riverside Community College District (RCCD) will be presented with Measure CC on the Nov. 5 ballot this election day. Measure CC is the Riverside Community College District Career Preparation, Affordable Higher Education measure.
If passed, Measure CC would provide funds to repair and upgrade local community college facilities. It will fund the upgrading of 22 classrooms and labs for skilled training offerings. It will also fund the removal of asbestos, mold and lead paint from campus buildings.
“The goal for Riverside Community College District is to be a change agent, a dynamic force for economic and social mobility, and the only way we can do that is by increasing affordable access to higher education to a large segment of our population,” said RCCD Chancellor Dr. Wolde-Ab Isaac.
The measure aims to increase opportunities for local students which includes earning college credits, acquiring job skills and expanding training programs. The measure also calls for public disclosure of all independent annual financial and performance audits, spending, and must follow a legally-binding project list. All Measure CC funds are intended to be used for RCCD’s local community colleges and cannot be taken by county, state or federal governments.
The San Bernardino Community College District has already put Measure CC in motion. Measure CC was passed in San Bernardino County in 2018, with 63% of support from voters. Measure CC was expected to generate $470 million in local funding to ensure that the SBCCD community had STEM labs, workforce training facilities at Crafton Hills College and San Bernardino Valley College, and structurally safe classrooms.
Prior to its current quest to pass Measure CC, RCCD passed Measure C, 20 years ago. With Measure C they expanded programs and moved from having only one college in the district, Riverside City College, to three colleges by adding Moreno Valley College and Norco College. As a result, they’ve increased their student population from 35,000 to almost 60,000, according to Dr. Isaac.
Funds from Measure C have now dried up, so the board proposed Measure CC this year as a replacement and not an addition.
If Measure CC is adopted, it will authorize “$954,000,000 in bonds. Repaying the bonds will require an estimated property tax levy of $19 per $100,000 [of assessed valuation annually] while the bonds are outstanding), with oversight, audits/spending disclosure,” according to RCCD’s Measure CC press release. requiring an estimated property tax levy of $19 per $100,000 of assessed value (for an estimated $57 million dollars annually while the bonds are outstanding).
“Riverside Community College District is the sixth-largest community college district in the state and the largest in the Inland Empire,” Dr. Isaac said. “Within the Inland Empire, which is larger than 27 states, we find that we have disproportionate levels of poverty. Unemployment is only 4% and yet poverty levels are 13%, which means we have thousands and thousands of people who are working full time earning poverty level salaries.”
Currently, RCCD trains all of their public safety officers, including paramedics, EMTs, the police officers and firefighters. They also have the second largest nursing program in the state and programs in medical assisting, dental hygiene, dental assisting, and medical transcription to support their allied health programs.
If this measure is passed, RCCD looks to expand their offers to residents in Jurupa Valley with a state-of-the-art Inland Empire technical trade center to prepare students for current and future jobs. The college district also wishes to expand their Norco colleges into the Corona area with an educational center in the STEM fields and in career technical education.
“When we look at our economic impact to Riverside County, our annual economic impact, it’s about $915 million a year, which translates to 13,500 jobs. Most of our graduates remain here. So the return on investment to the citizens is that for every dollar they invest in our community college, the return is $3. It’s like a 300% return on investment. The most important thing is they are investing it on their own children, on the future of their children,” Isaac said.
Some local groups, like “Big Bad Bonds ™”, who claim to be parents, neighbors, and “other honest people,” oppose Measure CC.
“Yes, the district put on public participation dog-and-pony shows. Yes, people got to voice their opinions. Yes, people were brought to a consensus. None of that matters, however, because the language of the bond promises only two things: One, the district will issue the bonds. And two, it will spend the proceeds. Read the fine print (the long, incoherent paragraphs) and see for yourself,” Big Bad Bonds stated via their website.
Isaac finds it hard to believe why people would be opposing this measure, because the measure’s aim is to give affordable access to all residents, and alleviate poverty.
“Do they want people to remain poor? We want our community to be safe. We want our community to have social and economic mobility. The more educated the population is, the healthier it becomes,” Isaac said.
“Why would people oppose something like that, [with what] we can do with the community’s input when the return on investment is so high? I encourage everyone to reconsider and support measure CC, because measure CC means that we are creating access to prosperity and an end to generational poverty.”
If the measure is not passed, Isaac said that all the plans RCCD has for funding generated by the bonds will be put on hold, potentially leading to demoralization and frustration in people who are connected to the need of these programs.