CSU Board of Trustees endorses Proposition 1A

The Board of Trustees of The California State University endorsed Proposition 1A, the Education Bond Act that will appear on the November 1998 General Election ballot (Sept. 16, 1998).

"This bond is absolutely essential to maintaining and improving the quality of education in California." - CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed

What is Proposition 1A?

Proposition 1A is a statewide education bond measure that was placed on the Nov. 3 ballot

by the governor and state legislature. California voters will be asked on Nov. 3 to vote on a $9.2 billion bond for public education over four years. The bond will commit $6.7 billion

to build and repair classrooms in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12), and the additional $2.5 billion will go to the state's colleges and universities to meet construction and repair needs on campuses across the state.

All the proceeds must be used for capital-outlay projects. Funds must be used to build new schools, reduce classroom overcrowding, repair older classrooms, construct laboratories and other facilities, wire for technology and address earthquake safety.

The last bond, approved in 1996, raised $1.5 billion for construction statewide. Another higher education bond passed in 1994.

Ten other state legislatures authorize bond issues for educational facilities

In at least 10 other states besides California, state legislatures have authorized bond issues

for education construction and repair during the last year. Many state legislatures, like California, are authorizing the largest bond issues for campus facilities in years, given the low interest rates they are being asked to pay on bonds. (See article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, "A Building Boom for Public Colleges," June 12, 1998.)

The governor of New York pushed through a plan to spend $3 billion over five years in construction at the state's two university systems, SUNY and CUNY.

What impact will Proposition 1A have on California State University, Fresno?

The passage of Proposition 1A will have a direct impact on California State University, Fresno in the areas of renovation of academic facilities, construction of a new academic building, and investment in technology infrastructure for faculty and students.

The bond will provide $606,000 in much-needed funds to update classrooms and laboratories in the university's McLane Hall as well as provide equipment and technology upgrades. These funds are critical in order to provide state-of-the-art facilities for students and faculty in the university's physics, biology, physical therapy, health sciences and nursing departments.

In addition the bond will provide about $18 million for construction of a new academic building, Science II, which will be part of the university's new Science Center. The new Science Center complex is designed to enhance the teaching and learning of science and technology and will also serve as a critical resource for the needs of the Central Valley community. The Science II project will allow Fresno State to replace inadequate lecture rooms currently located in temporary buildings and provide instructional space for the departments of psychology, geology and physics. The Science Center complex will eventually be a $90 million facility which will serve the entire Central California Valley.

Finally, the bond will provide $168 million to fund the California State University system's technology infrastructure needs which are essential to provide students and faculty with access to the technology they require in order to function in the information age.