SRJC Measure H a worthy investment in our youth

When Sonoma County voters go to the polls Nov. 4, it will be 10 years ago to the day that they approved a special 1/4-cent sales tax to fund improvements to Highway 101. Though challenges remain, especially in the Marin-Sonoma Narrows, the positive results of that locally approved tax are obvious to everyone who uses the most important transportation artery in the region.

And two years before that, voters approved the $251 million Measure A for Santa Rosa Junior College. Again, the investments in modernizing the campus such as the Frank P. Doyle Library, B. Robert Burdo Culinary Arts Center -- to name just two projects -- have positively impacted the lives of students and enhanced the educational experience. But like Highway 101, there is more to be done.

On this coming Nov. 4, voters are being asked to invest once again in their Santa Rosa Junior College.

Measure H would raise $410 million to modernize and expand facilities at Santa Rosa Junior College, many of which are several decades old. Among the projects it would fund is a state-of-the-art $91 million math and science building that is critical to preparing students for 21st Century jobs. It would replace old labs and classrooms, modernize its career technical education facilities and build classrooms and laboratories at Shone Farm where students are being prepared for jobs in local agriculture.

The college, headed by a board of trustees that has consistently put the interests of students first, demonstrated with the 2002 bond measure that it can invest taxpayer funds responsibly and with foresight.

The latter -- foresight -- is important because of how quickly technology and the needs of the workplace are putting new demands on education -- demands that did not exist even a few years ago. The iPhone did not exist until five years after voters approved Measure A in 2002 and one can only imagine how technology will change how we communicate and learn 10 years from now. The community needs an educational institution that has the resources to respond to that change.

Santa Rosa Junior College -- a leader among its peers -- has arguably changed more lives for the better than any other single educational institution in Sonoma County. It is the primary gateway to four-year colleges for thousands of students and a leading provider of education for police, fire and a host of other solid careers. If one wonders how deeply the college has reached into the community, ask a room of 500 locals whether they, a child or friend has benefited from attending SRJC and watch the vast majority of hands go up -- and proudly.

A yes vote on Measure H will help assure that continues for decades to come.

Show Comment