2014
PROPOSITIONS S AND N ANNUAL REPORT SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT CITIZENS’ OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
city College Arts & Humanities and Business & Technology buildings 190,378 SQUARE FEET OF NEW FACILITIES FOR PROGRAMS IN VISUAL ARTS, HUMANITIES, AND BUSINESS
In 1970, Joni Mitchell penned Big Yellow Taxi writing, “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” In 2014, Proposition N funds replaced that parking lot with something better – a host of classrooms where thousands of students will learn and grow for decades to come. San Diego City College’s Arts & Humanities building, approximately 128,000 square feet of new space, houses Arts and Humanities departments, including Visual Arts, English, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Speech, and Foreign Language, as well as Honors, World Cultures, and City Works programs. The building features classrooms; a lecture hall; computer labs giving students greater access to technology; ample studio space for drawing, ceramics, sculpture, and graphics courses; and an art gallery. The building design surrounds a 100-seat black-box theater with drama classrooms and related space for faculty and support staff. Exterior usable space includes a kiln yard, a sculpture garden, and informal gathering spaces. The Business & Technology building adds 62,000 square feet of new space for the Business Department, including seven computer labs, multiple classrooms, a lecture hall, common areas, and associated support space for faculty and staff. The building provides a home for the Business Studies and Information Technology departments. Additionally, the Small Business Entrepreneurship Program provides hands-on opportunities for students to manage start-up businesses. A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
It is my distinct pleasure to present the Citizens’ Oversight Committee (COC) 2014 Annual Report. At this point, more than 83 percent of the San Diego Community College District’s (SDCCD) $1.555 billion Propositions S and N construction bond program has been expended. Over the past dozen years these funds have enabled the District to transform the City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges and seven Continuing Education campuses. Architects, engineers, building trades workers, District staff, and contracted personnel designed, constructed, and/ or expanded academic and career training facilities, completed extensive infrastructure projects, and installed state-of-the-art technology. As mandated, the COC has reported regularly on the District’s conformity to the bond measures and the building
of facilities. In full committee and subcommittee meetings, members ask questions of District staff and project managers, evaluate the responses, reach conclusions, and recommend actions. One of the buildings completed this year was Mesa College’s Social and Behavioral Sciences building. The disciplines housed in this building assess who we are, how we arrived at the point of asking where we want to go next, and why. How will we get there? What dangers may lie ahead? These students are San Diego’s future, and when the SDCCD needs to grow again, our city will have a citizenry prepared to think about the direction and purpose of higher education. The COC also is pleased to report that for the 14th consecutive year, the
SDCCD has earned top bond ratings and clean audits. These audits confirm that all bond monies are being spent as directed in the propositions. For example, no bond monies are spent on District administrator salaries. Going into 2015, the bond program has generated nearly 10,000 prevailing wage jobs, of which we are proud. As always, our meetings are open to anyone interested in attending. Meeting details and documents are always available on the Propositions S and N website. We sincerely welcome and encourage your participation.
Evonne Seron Schulze
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