Voters in the local school district still have lots of questions about the Santa Fe Community College's $35 million bond election Tuesday — essentially a property tax levy to fund capital improvements on campus and build a new facility next to the College of Santa Fe.

SFCC President Sheila Ortego acknowledges people are still seeking information on the specifics of the bond. She also believes there's a lot of misinformation floating around, like the belief that the community college has lots of empty classrooms it could use for expansion (not true, she said), or that the school purposefully tried to schedule the vote at a different date than the general election (the state constitution mandates when school elections can be held).

The spending plan is comprised of several elements, with the largest share — $12 million — earmarked for the Higher Education Center, a 35,000-square-foot facility that would be used by several colleges and allow a student to earn a bachelor's or master's degree under one roof. While the $12 million would finance the building, each participating university would be responsible for providing teachers and staff.

The bond plan also includes $7.6 million for community college roads, parking lots and an additional entrance at SFCC; $7 million for energy-efficient green projects at SFCC; $5.4 million to upgrade SFCC's information-technology infrastructure; and a final $3 million for renovations at the existing campus.

As of Friday morning, 504 people had voted early at an early voting site set up on the SFCC campus, and another 183 had voted at the County Clerk's Office, said Denise Lamb, chief deputy clerk for elections for Santa Fe County.

The numbers seem to be in line with those of the community college's last bond election in 2007, Lamb said, when 530 voted early with 116 absentee ballots. The total turnout for 2007 was 2,429.

Proponents argue that SFCC, which opened in 1983, needs both renovation and a second entrance/exit. It has one now (via Richards Avenue). Supporters of the bond issue also say that the proposed Higher Education Center would give Santa Feans the chance to earn a higher degree and therefore land a better job upon graduation.

Opponents continue to question the merits of both the planned center and the proposed upgrades at the existing campus. Likewise, many question why the college lumped all of its needs into one bond issue during an economic recession.

"Both issues are equally critical and deserve to be voted on in a package," the community college president said.

Ortego said the school spent considerable time and resources taking the pulse of the community via a survey conducted by the Albuquerque-based Research and Polling Inc. Roughly 68 percent of those polled said they were current or past students at SFCC.

"We are a quality institution focused on the quality management principle, which means we listen to the voice of the customer," Ortego said. "We have done our homework on this ... and people seeking a bachelor's degree in our area desire a convenient central location ... something closer to town."

Ortego said the bond will allow the college to buy land at the city-owned College of Santa Fe campus (near the Siringo Road entrance) either directly from the city or from the state's General Services Department, which, she said, is also looking to buy land there.

She said while SFCC could incubate the Higher Education Center on its current campus south of town by offering some limited classes, it would eventually need more space. If the bond passes, construction on the HEC could begin in the autumn of 2012. SFCC owns about 360 acres at its own campus, a little more than half of which is developed, according to Meridee Walters, the college's vice president of finance and administration.

Walters said that with the current low interest rates, it's unlikely (though not definite) that property tax rates would go up as a result of the proposed new bond. Rates will vary based on the maturity of the bonds, an agency's bond rating and the economic situation at the time the bonds are put out for bid.

For instance, in 2007 (before the recession) the college sold bonds with a six-year maturity and an interest rate of 3.5 percent, she said. In 2009, during the recession, it sold seven-year maturity bonds at an interest rate of 1.46 percent.

For the proposed new bond, she estimates a seven-year maturity and an interest rate somewhere between 1.75 percent and 2.5 percent.

The college is currently carrying $15.6 million in debt, she said, which should be paid off by 2015 without new borrowing.

If voters on Tuesday reject the latest bond issue, taxpayers could see a slight decline in the portion of their tax bill that goes to pay debt service on capital spending at the community college, spokeswoman Janet Wise said.

The election is costing about $40,000, Ortego said, with the money coming from the college's foundation and Citizens for the Santa Fe Community College. Though most voters in the county are eligible to vote on the bond, only about 2,200 voters took part in the last SFCC-related bond election, Walters said.

Paul Morrison, chairman of Santa Fe County Republican Party, said he's working to defeat the bond.

"The bond proposal is a bunch of feel-good items the way they wrote it up," he said. "I understand the cultural point of students wanting to stay in Santa Fe to study, and if we can afford that, fine, let's do it. But I still want to see the numbers to justify it.

"My real concern is the college's lack of a cost-benefit analysis. The college hasn't shown us where there will be a payoff — with the green projects especially. I don't think the Higher Education Center has been studied enough. And I'm afraid $12 million will not be enough — it could probably go to $18 million or more real fast."

R. Reese Frenkel, who calls herself a concerned and informed citizen, said, "Now isn't the time for a $35 million bond." She said her research indicates that despite the college's enrollment figure of roughly 6,500 students, fewer than 400 graduated with an associate's degree this past year, making her wonder how many SFCC students would pursue further education.

According to Todd Lovato, director of media and public relations for the college, the school had about 7,000 students taking credit courses last spring, and 380 graduates. Not all students taking classes there are working toward a degree.

Other opponents, such as Santa Fean Reynaldo Morales, agree with Morrison that the school hasn't prepared enough specific data about the various components of the bond. He'd like to see the colleges taking part in the HEC ante up some of the building cost. And while he thinks the college desperately needs another entrance/exit to avoid a potential disaster should an emergency evacuation occur, he believes SFCC should make that happen immediately, regardless of the bond outcome.

Janet Wise, executive director of marketing and public relations for the college, said if the bond passes, the school will work on that new entrance in about two years — after it consults with both the county and neighbors to ensure cooperation on the issue.

Ortego said the HEC will help alleviate traffic congestion at the college as students transfer to the new site. The college will also use some of the bond money to purchase several biodiesel vans to shuttle students between the campuses.

So far, the school has received letters of support and/or intent from New Mexico Highlands University, The University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, Northern New Mexico College and Eastern New Mexico University, Ortego said. But SFCC cannot ink any deals with these schools until the bond passes, Ortego emphasized.

Ortego said the community college was established to serve the community, and the HEC is a logical and much-needed next step in the facility's growth.

"The community college only passed by one vote in the Legislature back in 1982," she said. "But think of the thousands and thousands of New Mexicans who would not have benefited had it not passed. I think voters have to consider the thousands of New Mexico citizens who are choosing education over poverty, training to be nurses or teachers or business workers or chefs or emergency medical technicians.

"We're not asking the public to give more. We're asking the public to sustain existing critical investment in the betterment of this community."

Staff writer Sandra Baltazar Martínez contributed to this story.

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.



VOTING INFORMATION

All regular voting locations will not be open, call 986-6280 or search online at www.santafecounty.org/clerk

Editor's note: This article appeared during the past weekend and is being re-posted for those seeking information on today's election.