Ron Taylor: Merced College desperately needs funds from Prop 51

California’s secretary of state has qualified 17 propositions for the November ballot. There is one measure that should not get lost in the mix: Proposition 51, authorizing bonds for school facilities.

This measure will provide much-needed educational facilities at Merced College. The college sorely needs funding from Prop. 51 to support at least two major projects: an agriculture/industrial technology complex, and renovation/expansion of the vocational complex. Existing facilities are over 40 years old and need replacement.

This is the state’s first education bond since 2006. The 2009-10 fiscal collapse and governor’s anti-debt stance have stopped previous proposals. At last, we can set things right. I understand resistance to indebtedness. But bond debt is the only method for funding school facilities. Prop. 39 provided some funding, but it is for energy-saving upgrades, and cannot be used for construction.

Voters generously supported bonds for facilities in 2002, and that money was put to good use – a library, classroom complex, child-development center, and the new Los Banos campus. Now it is time for long-awaited improvements to finish that work, and the only practical way is with passage of the statewide bond.

I will mark “Yes” on Proposition 51. I hope others do the same.

This story was originally published July 20, 2016 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Ron Taylor: Merced College desperately needs funds from Prop 51."