Endorsement: Vote yes on Measure LA to invest in community colleges
On Oct. 28, the City Council is scheduled to approve a three-year, $27.5 million Proposition 1B bond to pay for upgrades to the University of California’s San Francisco campus, along with a new $3.5 million parking structure and new recreational space for the nearby public space.
“I’ve tried to work with UC to find ways to improve the situation, but they haven’t been able to come to an agreement,” said Councilmember Dan Kalb. “We needed to find a way to fund new upgrades in the campus without raising taxes, and the city of Berkeley had the expertise and the infrastructure to help us do it.”
Measure LA would allow the city to transfer the revenue generated from the bond, as well as the revenue that the California State University, Sacramento and other university systems, and California Community Colleges share in a shared cost for campus improvements to the University, University of California at Berkeley, and UC Davis.
“Berkeley is known as a great place for innovation and research universities, and this project will create even greater opportunities for those that study here and for our state” said Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who will be the new chair of this bond validation committee. “These are important investments for California, and this bond, in turn, will benefit Californians, our country, and the global economy.”
The bond passed by Measure LA will fund a total of $28.5 million in projects for more than 100 of the city’s nearly 300 campus buildings. Included in the bond is $3.5 million for a parking garage at San Francisco State University, $2.4 million for the student center at UC Berkeley, $1 million for the new student academic center at The City College of San Francisco, and $2 million for a new student center at University of the Pacific.
This bond would also establish the Berkeley College of Natural Resources and Environment. There are no plans to renovate the existing campus.
