West Hills College District and Lemoore voters give big thumbs up to Measure T

The $20-million bond measure will allow the district to keep pace with today’s rapidly changing educational and job-training technology at its campuses in Coalinga and Lemoore as well as at the North District Center in Firebaugh. The bond funds would be used solely to upgrade and replace obsolete technology, and is designed to save taxpayers millions of dollars in reduced borrowing costs.

“Obviously we are all delighted that Measure T passed,” said West Hills Community College Chancellor Frank Gornick.  “The benefits will begin on January of 2015 when we issue our first bond for $5 million.”

Gornick was obviously pleased with the enthusiastic reception the bond measure received throughout the district, an area that includes all of Kings, and much of Fresno, and Madera counties. The District also includes small parts of Monterey and Benito counties. The District needed 55 percent to pass and it got nearly 57 percent, including nearly 60 percent in Fresno County.

The majority of voters reside in Kings County where local voters also gave the bond measure its seal of approval by passing it with slightly under 55 percent. “I think the positive response by the voters demonstrates the confidence they have in the direction of our district, the leadership of our board of trustees and the important work of our faculty, staff and administration throughout our district,” said Gornick.

School officials say Measure T will provide an ongoing source of locally controlled, affordable funds for classroom computers, Internet infrastructure, and other technology equipment at each of the district’s sites.

Measure T makes financial sense. Measure T bonds will be short-term; repaid in five years or less. With these low-interest bonds, funds that would have otherwise gone to make interest payments can now be used to fund technology upgrades and equipment. The average tax rate needed to repay the bond is estimated to be $9.87 per $100,000 of assessed valuation.

Local school officials were also pleased with the outcome. “First let me say West Hills is very appreciative of the support from our communities,” said West Hills College Lemoore President Don Warkentin. “Measure T will allow us to keep pace with the latest in technology in order to offer the highest quality educational opportunities possible. We will be able to replace aging computers with new technology in our classrooms and online courses.”

What does Measure T mean to the average property owner? It means that it will provide revenue to the district for the next twenty years to keep local college students and faculty current with the technological advances in education and the workplace. The cost is less than 10 dollars a year on the assessed value of the property. The other unique feature is that the board is authorized to issue bonds in the amount of $20 million over a 20-year period. The bonds will be issued in the amount of $5 million every four to five years, meaning that before they issue the second bond for $5 million the first issue will be paid off.