Measure R Question

GROSSMONT-CUYAMACA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

Proposition R

(This proposition will appear on the ballot in the following form.)

PROP R To prepare our local Grossmont College and Cuyamaca College students for jobs and 4-year colleges by: Repairing leaking roofs, worn wiring/plumbing, aging restrooms; Relieving overcrowding; Renovating aging/deteriorating classrooms, labs; Repairing/acquiring/constructing/equipping college buildings, sites, and science/computer labs; Training medical workers/nurses and safety officers; shall Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District issue $207,000,000 in bonds at legal rates with Strict Accountability Safeguards including Citizens Oversight Committee, annual independent audits, with no money for administrators' salaries?

This proposition requires approval by 55% of the voters to pass.

Full text of this proposition follows the arguments/rebuttals.

Impartial Analysis for Measure R

COUNTY COUNSEL'S IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS

This proposition, if approved by at least 55% of the voters voting on the proposition, would authorize the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District to have issued and sold $207,000,000 in general obligation bonds on its behalf. The issuance and sale of a bond by a school district is for the purpose of raising money for the district and represents a debt of the district. In exchange for the money received from the holder of the bond, the district promises to pay the holder a set amount of interest for a certain period of time, and to repay the loan on the expiration date.

The proceeds of these bonds of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District would be used to repair leaking roofs, worn wiring and plumbing, and aging restrooms; renovate aging and deteriorating classrooms and labs; and repair, acquire, construct and equip college buildings, sites, and science and computer labs at Grossmont College and Cuyamaca College in order to prepare students for jobs and four-year colleges, to train medical workers, nurses and safety officers, and to relieve overcrowding.

The interest rate on any bond, which is established at the time of bond issuance, could not exceed 12% per annum. The final maturity date of any bond could be no later than 25 years after the date of bonds issued pursuant to the Education Code or not later than 40 years after the date of bonds issued pursuant to the Government Code. Principal and interest on the bonds would be paid by revenue derived from an annual tax levied upon the taxable property within the Grossmont- Cuyamaca Community College District in an amount sufficient to pay the interest as it becomes due and to provide a sinking fund for payment of the principal on or before maturity.

Article XIII A of the California Constitution exempts from the one percent property tax rate limitation ad valorem taxes to pay the interest and redemption charges on any bonded indebtedness for the acquisition or improvement of real property, including the furnishing and equipping of school facilities, approved by at least 55% of the voters voting on the proposition if (a) the proceeds from the sale of the bonds are used only for the purposes specified, (b) the district, by evaluating safety, class size reduction, and information technology, has approved a list of specific projects to be funded, (c) the district will conduct an annual, independent performance audit, and (d) the district will conduct an annual, independent financial audit. If a bond measure is approved by at least 55% of the voters voting on the proposition, state law further requires the governing board to establish an independent citizens' oversight committee. The District has made the ballot proposition subject to these requirements.

A "yes" vote is a vote in favor of authorizing the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District to issue bonds for the purposes stated.

A "no" vote is a vote against authorizing the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District to issue bonds for the purposes stated.

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Argument in Favor of Measure R

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF PROPOSITION R

Grossmont/Cuyamaca College Classroom Repair and Technology Measure
. . . with strict Taxpayer Safeguards.

Tens of thousands of East County students depend upon Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges to prepare for 4-year colleges and jobs. Proposition R is critical to their future!

Grossmont College is aging, deteriorating and urgently needs repairs.
Many buildings are 40+ years old. Roofs leak. Worn electrical systems, aging plumbing, and heating systems need renovation and repair. Bathrooms are worn out. Aging fire safety equipment and sprinklers need replacement.
Proposition R makes repairs now before these problems get worse and wind up costing even more.

Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges need computers and technology.
Outdated classrooms built before personal computers and the Internet need renovation. At both colleges, science, math and computer labs are badly needed for job training and preparation for advanced education.
Proposition R renovates electrical systems, rewires classrooms for technology and builds Science and Technology Centers to provide student access to computers and lab technicians.

Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges are severely overcrowded.
Built for 4,800, more than 18,000 students attend Grossmont. Cuyamaca College, built for 3,500, enrolls 8,000. Combined enrollment will reach 35,000 by 2015. Proposition R provides new classrooms, laboratories and learning centers to prepare local students for 4-year colleges and jobs.

STRICT TAXPAYER SAFEGUARDS guarantee funds will be spent exactly as promised – efficiently and without waste!

• • An Independent Citizens Oversight Committee will oversee all expenditures.
• • Guaranteed Annual Independent Financial and Project Audits with results published in local newspapers and on the Internet.
• • By law, Proposition R funds can only be spent on classrooms/buildings. No money can be spent on administrators' salaries.

YES on Proposition R.
It's critical to our students' future.

Endorsed: Fire Chief Darrell Jobes, Community, Business, Education and Church Leaders, and the Mayors of El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, and Santee.

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Rebuttal to Argument in Favor of Measure R

REBUTTAL TO THE ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF PROPOSITION R

If passed, Prop R will increase your property taxes for decades to come.

More responsible spending is needed, not more taxes.

Education is AWASH in money! Last year's state budget included a significant increase for education funding, one of several major future increases planned.

Education is very valuable to college students. But California is among the lowest tuition junior college systems in the nation. And low-income students pay no tuition at all. Why make the taxpayers pay almost all the expense? Surely the students, who benefit the most, should (along with their parents) pay a more meaningful cost of their education.

With proper budgeting, the district should be able to build and maintain our community colleges WITHOUT a tax increase. But, if they can fool us with this measure, we will see the increased taxes we have already earmarked for education wasted on trendy programs and exorbitant salaries for the bloated education bureaucracy.

Our families and seniors are struggling with the rising cost of housing, gasoline, food, dental and medical expenses, childcare and electric bills. We pay too much in taxes already!

Prop R is a special tax on your home. Property assessed at $300,000 will be charged an estimated $74.82 in additional taxes/year, which could come to $2,244.60 over the next 30 years.

DON'T BE MISLED BY EMOTIONAL RHETORIC. YOU CAN BE FOR STUDENTS, FOR EDUCATION AND AGAINST PROP R.

Vote NO on this tax increase!
Vote NO on expensive special elections!
Vote NO on Prop R!

www.less-tax.org/PropR

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Argument Against Measure R

ARGUMENT AGAINST PROPOSITION R

WHAT? ANOTHER election to raise school taxes even more?

After squandering millions of dollars over the years, the politicians are seeking a huge tax increase to do what we taxpayers thought the bureaucrats had been doing all along -- building and maintaining our schools.

Why has the district allowed our schools to deteriorate? Could this policy be a callous ruse to convince us to increase our taxes for schools?

If community colleges need more funding, raise the tuition! Low income students are already exempt from paying tuition – let students pay more towards their valuable education.

We already pay enough for all the items in the bond proposal. But our money is spent elsewhere, primarily on salaries for the education establishment that far exceed what the market would dictate. This bond measure is really another attempt to free up EXISTING building funds so that they can be spent on salaries, perks, bureaucracy, "prevailing wage" inflated construction costs and other unnecessary expenses.

School funding is primarily a state priority problem. We pay plenty of taxes. Funding must be prioritized, shifting taxes from welfare or other areas to where money is really needed.

There are only three voter positions when it comes to taxes:

1. Taxes are too high.

2. Taxes are about right.

3. Taxes are too low.

If you agree with position "3", then you should support this tax. However, if you agree with position "I" or "2", then you should vote against this proposition.

Vote "NO" on Prop R

www.less-tax.org/PropR

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Rebuttal to Argument Against Measure R

REBUTTAL TO THE ARGUMENT AGAINST PROPOSITION R

The opponents have obviously not read Proposition R (for Repair) and have not looked into the serious needs East County students face. They filed the same argument – almost word for word – against Proposition T. They simply oppose all school measures.

Proposition R (for Repair) addresses decades of use, overcrowding, and the need to provide students with computer technology and the Internet. Think of your own home. Imagine 30+ college students coming in and out 10 to 14 hours a day for 30 or 40 years. Buildings wear out. Electrical and plumbing systems become worn and need repair. Computer and Internet access is simply not available in classrooms built in the 1960s with only 2 electrical outlets. A growing student population needs libraries, classrooms and science labs.

"Proposition R (for Repair) is fiscally responsible," says Mary Ball, President, San Diego County Taxpayers Association. "It's much cheaper to make needed repairs now than wait until things get worse and cost us more. Taxpayer Safeguards – including an Oversight Committee and annual audits – are built into Proposition R (for Repair) to protect taxpayers."

Independent studies repeatedly show our college district among the best managed and the lowest in spending on overhead in California. East County's toughest Taxpayer Watchdogs – Supervisor Dianne Jacob and Congressman Duncan Hunter – support Proposition R (for Repair).

Tens of thousands of East County students depend upon Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges to prepare for 4-year colleges and jobs.

Proposition R (for Repair) is critical to their future!

Vote YES on Proposition R (for Repair).

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Full Text of Measure R

EXHIBIT B

FULL TEXT BALLOT PROPOSITION

The following is the full proposition presented to the voters of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.

"To prepare our local Grossmont College and Cuyamaca College students for jobs and 4-year colleges by:

• • Repairing leaking roofs, worn wiring/plumbing, aging restrooms;
• • Relieving overcrowding;
• • Renovating aging/deteriorating classrooms, labs;
• • Repairing/acquiring/constructing/equipping college buildings, sites, and science/ computer labs;
• • Training medical workers/nurses and safety officers;

Shall Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District issue $207,000,000 in bonds at legal rates with Strict Accountability Safeguards including Citizens Oversight Committee, annual independent audits, with no money for administrators' salaries?"

PROJECTS

The Governing Board of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District evaluated the District's urgent and critical facility needs, including class size reduction, safety, energy reduction, and information technology. The Board conducted independent facilities evaluations and received public input in developing the scope of college facility projects to be funded, as listed in the facilities construction, renovation and repair, energy reduction, and technology master plans approved by the Board in 2002. These plans are on file at the District's Public Information Office, and include, but are not limited to, the following projects:

PROJECTS FOR BOTH GROSSMONT AND CUYAMACA COLLEGES

• • Repair, Renovate, and/or Replace Obsolete Classrooms, Science Labs, Instructional Facilities and Infrastructure:

Repair, renovate and/or replace deteriorating roofs, plumbing, wiring, aging and run down restrooms, telecommunications systems, foundations, classrooms, science laboratories, lecture halls and other instructional facilities, wire classrooms for computers and technology, increase safety, increase energy efficiency, and reduce operating costs.

• • Improve Emergency Access and Evacuation Routes:

To improve student safety, redesign campus road network to eliminate dangerous intersections and unsafe conditions, reduce gridlock, improve pedestrian safety, and increase access for emergency vehicles.

• • Renovate, Repair, Equip, Construct and/or Expand Student Services Buildings:

Renovate, repair, equip, and construct and/or expand student services buildings to include academic advisement centers, study areas, lecture/meeting/seminar rooms, computer hook- up and study areas, and other student support.

• • Refinance Existing Lease Obligations related to Classrooms, Laboratories and Equipment:

This refinancing will lower interest rates and save taxpayers money.

• • Repair, Replace and Renovate Electrical and Mechanical Systems to Reduce Energy Consumption by up to 30 percent:

A comprehensive study by independent engineers has identified energy reduction projects that could reduce energy consumption by up to 30 percent.

COLLEGE-SPECIFIC BUILDINGS

GROSSMONT COLLEGE

• • Health Professions and Nursing Instructional Facilities:

Construct a Health Professions instructional building to address the critical shortage of health care professionals, especially in nursing.

• • Science Classroom and Laboratory Building:

Construct classroom, laboratory and instructional support building to continue to provide top quality education to prepare local students for jobs and four-year colleges.

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• • Instructional Technology Center:

Repair, renovate and equip the Instructional Technology Center with high-speed Internet access, computer technology and improved safety and emergency access.

CUYAMACA COLLEGE

• • Communications Instructional Lab Building:

Construct and equip classrooms, labs and computer/technical support areas to prepare students for careers and four-year degrees in communications technology and the communications professions.

• • Business and Computer Information Systems Instructional Building:

Construct and equip a Business and Computer Systems instructional building to prepare students for careers and four-year degrees in accounting, business, and computer occupations.

• • Science & Technology Center:

Construct and equip a Science and Technology Center to provide life and physical sciences classrooms, labs, and computer/technical support to prepare students for careers and fouryear degrees in science and technology jobs and professions.

The specific allocation of bond money may be affected by the District's receipt of state and other funds and final costs of each project. The budget for each project may be affected by factors beyond the District's control. The Governing Board will establish the timing of projects after review by the Citizens Oversight Committee.

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Measure R Tax Rate Statement

TAX RATE STATEMENT

An election will be held in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (the "District") on November 5, 2002, for the purpose of submitting to the electors of the District the question of incurring a bonded indebtedness of the District in an aggregate principal amount of $207 million. If such bonds are authorized and sold, the principal thereof and interest thereon will be payable from the proceeds of tax levies made upon the taxable property in the District. The following information regarding tax rates is given to comply with Section 9401 of the California Elections Code. Such information is based upon the best estimates and projections presently available from official sources, upon experience within the District, and other demonstrable factors.

Based upon the foregoing and projections of the District's assessed valuation, and assuming the entire debt service will be paid through property taxation:

1. The best estimate of the tax which would be required to be levied to fund the bond issue during the first fiscal year after the sale of the first series of bonds, based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is 2.489¢ per $100 of assessed valuation for the year 2003-2004.

2. The best estimate from official sources of the tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund the bond issue during the first fiscal year after the last sale of the bonds and an estimate of the year in which that rate will apply, based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is 2.499¢ per $100 of assessed valuation for the year 2009-2010.

3. The best estimate of the highest tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund the bond issue and an estimate of the year in which that rate will apply, based on estimated assessed valuation available at the time of filing of this statement, is 2.499¢ per $100 of assessed valuation for the year 2009-2010.

The average annual tax levy is projected to be $24.94 per $100,000 of real property valuation.

Attention to all voters is directed to the fact that the foregoing information is based upon projections and estimates only. The actual times of sales of said bonds and the amount sold at any given time will be governed by the needs of the District and other factors. The actual interest rates at which the bonds will be sold, which in any event will not exceed the maximum permitted by law, will depend upon the bond market at the time of sales. The actual assessed values in the future years will depend upon the value of property within the District as determined in the assessment and the equalization process. Accordingly, the actual tax rates and the years in which such rates are applicable may vary from those presently estimated as above stated.

Omero Suarez
Chancellor
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District

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Measure R Agenda Description

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Measure R Resolution