There have been two bonds issued in the history of Cerritos College. It has been almost 50 years since the school was built and opened. It took the first General Obligation bond to do that and now it takes another to upgrade and renovate Cerritos College 50 years later.
On Sept. 27, 1955 a ballot measure calling for a $6 million bond issue was passed by voters to build the college. By Sept. 11, 1956 there were 197 students enrolled in the college.
Now, with the recent Measure CC bond that was for $210 million passed, it will help ensure students learn in a better environment with better facilities.
The residents of the District that were for the G.O. Bond won by with 57 percent of the vote.
In the end, the total number of votes in favor of the measure was 26,831, and with a meek 19,928 opposing the bond measure.
Since 1955, the college has increased currently to 24,000 students a semester. According to the Facts at a Glance about the demographics of the college it has also become widely diverse since 1955 with more than 400 international students enrolled from over 45 countries.
Measure CC is the future of Cerritos College
The Board of Trustees, along with several other committees, has worked diligently to come up with a Master Plan for the Cerrito Cerritos.
The Master plan is a layout of what is currently at Cerritos and what is to build in the near future.
Although the first bond issuing is not expected until July for an estimated $40 million, the Board has been conducting study sessions to figure out what might be the first projects on the list.
There is talk about an expansion of the Automotive center as one of the larger projects on the list.
What will happen because of the Measure CC?
The bond will ensure the building of classrooms; laboratories and students support facilities for crucial academic and workforce training programs.
Also it will increase parking such as a parking structure and improve campus health and safety for the students.
With the school buildings becoming over 50 years old, the bond will help in the upgrade aging classrooms, restrooms and deteriorating infrastructure.
Currently, some of the buildings are under construction for a seismic retrofitting such as the Administration Building. The Liberal Arts and the Social Science Building have been finished for their retrofitting.
The Campaign for Measure CC
The college had a long running campaign for Measure CC and it involved mailers and phone bank operations to help the college learn how voters were going to vote on the measure come March 2.
Students in clubs and in the Associated Students of Cerritos College helped out in the campaign and tried to reach out to other students and get them involved in the campaign. The students and faculty participate in phone banks, precinct runners and running an info booth on campus.
Donna Jones was the Campaign Office Manager for Measure CC and the Citizens for Cerritos College and helped run the office and phone bank.
The Future of Cerritos College
With the passage of the $210 million bond called Measure CC, otherwise known as the General Obligation Bond, Cerritos College will be able to move ahead with plans to upgrade the college and make improvements to the facilities.
Without the passage of Measure CC, the college would have to look to other resources to help upgrade the facilities.
The Master Plan
Cerritos College has come up with a Master Plan for all the renovations and new constructions that will be taking place. The plan can be viewed in the president’s office or online at the college web site at www.cerritos.edu.
The G.O. Bond will help to ensure adequate health and safety conditions, including current health and safety codes, at Cerritos College for students, faculty, staff and community members.
Some of the main things that will be done now that the G.O. Bond has passed:
- The college will replace equipment rather than renovate where cost effective –cost effective improvements in terms of energy efficiency, maintenance, or revenue generating.
Some of the needs include eliminating asbestos; renovate the restrooms, and repair/resurface/expand parking, campus roads, entrance and exit access.
- Renovate classrooms and labs to meet current code for disabled access and install/upgrade fire systems, including sprinklers.
The college is also in need of upgrading campus wide telephone and emergency communication system and exterior lighting.
The Board looks for to the future of the college and how the $210 million will help the students receive a better education with the upgrades of the learning environment.
The G.O. Bond has definitely ensured that the community cares about the college and the future of education in the District. Though it might take more than a year to physically see what the bond money will do it will help students and faculty be able to learn and teach in a better environment.
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