Measure AA Frequently Asked Questions

Background

The Mt. San Jacinto College Board of Trustees voted on Aug. 4, 2014 to place a bond measure on the November 2014 ballot.

The bond will provide MSJC with the funding to expand classes for job training, educational services for our returning military veterans and increase opportunities for students to transfer to four-year universities.

Students depend on MSJC to provide them with quality education at an affordable price. Students save about $40,000 by attending MSJC on their way to earning a four-year degree.

Regional employers depend on MSJC to provide them with a skilled workforce to fill jobs in nursing, emergency medical technicians, law enforcement, auto and computer technicians and other jobs important to our region.

Q) Why now?

MSJC is a 52-year-old community college and some of its buildings are temporary modulars from the 1960s.

MSJC’s General Fund dollars currently support: Classrooms; Programs; Student Services; Maintenance and Repairs; New Construction.

Bond funds will be used for maintenance, repairs and construction and Free-Up General Fund dollars to create and expand programs, add more classes and boost student services.

The San Jacinto Campus is nearly 50 years old, the Menifee Valley Campus is not yet complete and MSJC must build new facilities for our growing communities in the I-15/I-215 corridor, including Temecula, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore, and meet the educational needs in Banning and Beaumont as those areas grow.

Q) What is the bond amount?

The $295 million bond will cost voters $13.20 a year per $100,000 of a property's assessed value.
The average assessed home value across the district is $190,000.
That’s about $26 a year, or slightly more than $2 a month.

Q) What will the bond pay for?

Here are a few of the improvements:

All Locations Districtwide

Improve disabled access
Expand educational services for military veterans
Expand services for students
Upgrade technology
Install money-saving energy conservation equipment
Expand job training programs
Expand 4-year transfer pathways
A local bond will make MSJC eligible for matching funds when available from the state

Modernization of the nearly 50-year-old San Jacinto Campus

New Math/Science Building
New Cultural & Performing Arts Center with multi-use Classrooms

Completion of Menifee Valley Campus (now about 60 percent complete)

Math/Science building
Athletics facilities - Physical Education - Kinesiology

San Gorgonio Pass

Construct & Equip Permanent Facility

Q) Can bond money be used for salaries?

No. By law, bond measure funds cannot be used for salaries.
A 9-member Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee comprised of representatives from throughout the district will be formed to watch how the money is spent.
Annual Financial Audits will be conducted to monitor spending.

MSJC Student & Institutional Achievements:

Top 150 Aspen Institute – chosen out of more than 1,000 nationwide based on student success rates and other data
2013 Military Friendly Institution – Top 20 % in the nation to serve veterans
Full Accreditation
High number of students earning Jack Kent Cooke Scholarships, Coca-Cola Scholars and more.
Awarding-winning faculty
Bill & Melinda Gates Grant recipient to start a Massive Open Online Class available to students around the world

MSJC Fast Facts

Headcount

Academic Year 2012-13

District wide headcount: 17,946

San Jacinto Campus: 7,031

Menifee Valley Campus: 11,220

San Gorgonio Pass: 847

Temecula: 3,230

(many students attend more than one campus)

Graduation

2014

Number of students: 1,093

Degrees and/or certificates awarded: 1,736

(some students earned more than one degree, certificate or a combination)

Past MSJC Bond Measures

Bond Measure needs 55 % approval from voters to pass.

MSJC is one of only 8 colleges in California without a bond.

1978 - $3 million approved by voters. MSJC had only the San Jacinto Campus at that time.

2006 Measure G - $720 million bond measure failed

2010 Measure U -$47 million bond measure, received nearly 52 percent approval. Needed 55 percent.

School Facilities Improvement District (SFID) for the Banning/Beaumont and surrounding communities.