BY NATANYA FRIEDHEIM
Daily Post Correspondent
As former chancellor of the San Mateo County Community College District Ron Galatolo awaits his release from jail, his former employer is seeking voter approval for nearly a billion dollars in construction projects.
Measure V asks voters to authorize $848 million in bonds for the San Mateo County Community College District for a new gym, upgrades to two arts buildings and a slew of other repairs at the district’s three campuses: Canada College in Redwood City, College of San Mateo and Skyline College in San Bruno.
District officials are planning to spend a chunk of the bond at Skyline, which has not gotten the same facelifts as the other two colleges, which were the beneficiaries of bond measures in 2014 and 2005. Those bond measures also led to trouble for Galatolo, who is currently serving an eight-month jail sentence in Maple Street Jail in Redwood City. He was sentenced in July after being convicted of lying about receiving lavish gifts from contractors and in return gave the firms expensive contracts paid for by the previous bond measures. He will be released on Nov. 27.
The bond measure needs to get 55% of the vote to pass.
Extending the current tax
If approved, Measure V would extend an existing property tax levy of $18 per $100,000 of a home’s assessed value. The owner of a $2.15 million home in San Mateo County — the county’s median home price — would pay $386 per year.
The levy would raise approximately $75 million annually for construction projects. Including interest, taxpayers would be on the hook for $1.35 billion, according to an estimate by the college district. The levy is expected to be in place until 2049.
The ballot language begins “Without increasing current tax rates,” then asks voters to authorize the bonds.
“Of course it’s going to raise taxes. It’s just going to extend the debt for many more decades,” said Chris Robell of the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, which opposes the measure.
The money would fund maintenance across all campuses, including upgrades to plumbing, electrical systems and roads, repairs for leaking pipes, and new computer lab equipment, according to the measure.
The money would also be used to “reconstruct or modernize” two arts buildings, one at Skyline and one at Canada, and a library at College of San Mateo, per the measure.
Matching state funds
If the district secures matching state funds, Measure V bonds would also pay for new student housing at Canada College and Skyline College. Skyline College could get a new gym with a pool.
Voters have approved at least $1.06 billion in bonds for the college district in the last 25 years. That money does not include the interest and fees associated with bonds.
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