STOCKTON, Calif. — San Joaquin Delta College trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to place a bond measure on the November 2024 ballot, which if approved by voters, would provide money to upgrade college facilities and programs, the school said.
If approved, a typical property owner would pay about $49 per year. The measure only takes into account assessed value, not market value.
The bond would total $598 million and reportedly help address the most urgent improvements needed across all Delta College campuses, including old plumbing, repairing leaky roofs, upgrading classrooms and labs and improving student safety.
“To continue providing these programs, we urgently need to upgrade and repair our facilities to meet today’s academic and safety standards,” said Lisa Aguilera Lawrenson, the college’s superintendent and president. “We encourage the public to learn more about our proposed bond measure in the months to come, and about Delta College’s ongoing efforts to uplift our community.”
In an era of big college debt, Delta College said more families are relying on public community colleges for low-cost, high-quality education. It has an annual economic impact on the community of $572 million per year and supports more than 6,800 jobs across the region, the school said.
In 2004, voters passed Measure L, which allowed the college to build a new math and science building, upgrade career education shops, upgrade training facilities for first responders and improve student technology, the school said.
A school facilities improvement measure requires strict accountability protections, including an independent citizens’ oversight committee, mandatory annual audits and a detailed project list, the college said. All funds would be controlled locally for Delta College improvements and cannot be used for administrators’ salaries.
