Sheila Ortego knows she'll have to answer a lot of questions at a public forum tonight about that $35 million bond the Santa Fe Community College is asking voters to support on Aug. 3.

"It's a complex bond, but if we're going to do something like this, now is the time to do it," said Ortego, the college's president. "We want to answer people's questions and explain why this is important to do now."

The bond comprises several elements. The biggest portion — $12 million — is allocated to building a new Higher Education Center with enrollment services, financial aid offices, academic advisers, computer labs, and classroom and tutorial space on the College of Santa Fe campus near the Siringo Road entrance.

The 35,000-square-foot facility would house several different colleges that, in tandem, would offer students the chance to stay at one site and earn a bachelor's or master's degree. Ortego said at least three schools have already expressed interest: The University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University and Eastern New Mexico University.

"It would be the first time we would have affordable, accessible four-year education for the citizens of Santa Fe under a coordinated effort," Ortego explained.

The $12 million would finance the building of the center, but each participating university would provide and pay for its own teachers and staff. The community college would supply about 10 nonteaching staff and administrators and probably post some adjunct teachers on the site as well. (The plan outlined on the college's website still notes that this building will cost $16 million, but that was based on a previous estimate for a 50,000-square-foot center.)

If voters approve the bond, the center could open as early as 2012.

The bond also includes $7.6 million for improvement to community college roads, parking lots and the main entrance; $7 million to support energy-efficient green projects on campus; and $5.4 million to upgrade the college's information-technology infrastructure. Finally, $3 million would be used to renovate existing campus structures and surrounding grounds.

With interest rates on the bond market remaining fairly low — Meridee Walters, the college's vice president of finance and administration, estimates the interest on this bond would be between 1 percent and 2 percent — the college believes that tax rates will not go up as a result. They say taxpayers might even see a decrease in their bills because other bond obligations will retire.

Both Ortego and Walters said that while the college considered breaking the bond up into two parts — one for the Higher Learning Center, and the other for campus improvements — it decided to go for an "all or nothing" approach.

"Only a third of the bond money is for the (center) — the bulk is for items that we will probably not get any other way," because of the economic recession, Ortego said.

She said campus upgrades and an expansion into a Higher Education Center make sense, given the college's increased popularity among Santa Feans.

The college had about 6,400 students enrolled in 2009/2010, according to Todd Lovato, director of media and public relations. Ortego said enrollment jumped about 25 percent over the past two years, and the college is expecting an 8 percent increase this fall. Tuition is $36 per credit hour.

Not surprisingly, a lot of the college's students support the bond, according to Cindy Nava, a recent grad who served as president of the Student Government Association in 2009/2010.

"It would open many doors for many students who sometimes don't continue to a four-year institution because so many of them have kids or really can't afford to travel," she said.

Theresa Garcia, a student who is the single mother of four children, agreed. "As far as I know, if I want to stay in Santa Fe, this is my only option to pursue a doctorate in medical anthropology," she said. "Otherwise I'll be going all the way to Albuquerque, and that's quite a drive. I feel like I'm pushing a boulder uphill sometimes, but at least it's not becoming pushing a boulder up a cliff by going to UNM."

Still, despite the array of facts and figures supporting the bond on its website (www.votesfcc.com), the college might face some critics tonight. Paul Morrison, chairman of Santa Fe County Republican Party, said he's a concerned citizen who has a "real problem" with the bond proposal.

"Do we really need it with so many colleges and universities for higher learning situated around the state?" he said. He also questioned the amount of money the college wants for "so-called green projects."

But Blaine Nickeson, chief of staff and communications director for the Aureria Higher Education Center in Denver, thinks such a center can work if the organizers garner "appropriate up-front investment to get the facilities in order."

"You need some structure of a governing board and clear memorandums of understanding and statutes that define the role and mission of the campus," he said. "Everybody has to be on the same academic calendar, the same time schedule, and those types of issues are what you have to achieve to maximize efficiency on campus."

The Aureria center opened in the mid-1970s and houses three separate academic institutions: the Community College of Denver, the Metropolitan State College of Denver and the Denver campus of the University of Colorado. Nickeson said there are about 40,000 students on campus.

"For cost per student for operating the campus, it's significantly lower (than the average)," he said. "And academically, there's something to be said that someone can enter as a community college student and stay on the same campus and leave with a doctorate from a university."

The key to the center is affordable education. Walters said each participating college will set its tuition rate to meet the needs of financially challenged students. UNM, for instance, currently charges $181 per credit hour, she said. If it took root at the Higher Education Center, it would have to alter its rates and policies so a Santa Fe Community College graduate could automatically transfer to UNM and, for a 120-hour program, pay about $13,000 in tuition rather than the roughly $22,000 it would cost now.

Still, the college knows it's got a challenge on its hands in terms of explaining it all.

"What we are trying to accomplish is complex," Walters said. "Many times bond issues are very simple — someone wants to build a school, and not during a great recession. We're challenged in terms of trying to explain the plan, how it's linked to higher education, and why it's important to Santa Fe."

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

IF YOU GO

Who: Santa Fe Community College and the Chamber of Commerce
What: Public forum on $35 million bond issue
When: 6 p.m. today
Where: Jemez Rooms, Santa Fe Community College, 6401 Richards Ave.
Information: Call 428-1776

BREAKDOWN OF THE BOND

$12 million — Santa Fe Higher Education Center
$7.6 million — Improvements to community college roads, main entry and parking
$7 million — Energy-efficiency and green projects
$5.4 million — Information-technology upgrades and infrastructure renewal
$3 million — Renovations of existing SFCC campus buildings and grounds