College board places $295 million bond on Nov. ballot

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The Santa Monica Community College District Board of Trustees on Monday night unanimously approved a $295 million facilities improvement bond measure for the November ballot. The bond will pay for various projects in Santa Monica and “Malibu High School Library and educational improvements.”

College district official Don Girard told The Malibu Times last week the money could be used to bring the college’s vast database of information to the Malibu High library, which could also be used by community members. He said the money could be used for “other projects on the site” as well, but he did not elaborate on that. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District officials contacted by The Times could not name specifics on how the bond money could be used, although they said there had been meetings between officials from both districts.

The bond would initially cost homeowners about $18 per $100,000 of assessed value of the home with the potential for the cost to increase, according to the college district. The bond requires 55 percent approval from voters for passage.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the board unanimously approved a $2.5 million donation to the Legacy Park Project. The money comes from the college district’s fund created by Measure S, the $135 million facilities bond measure approved by voters in 2004. The bond language requires $25 million to be used for projects in Malibu. The college used $2.5 million to help with the purchase of Legacy Park from the Malibu Bay Co. in 2006. The remaining money is expected to go toward the purchase of the old City Hall property in the Civic Center, where a classroom facility would be built.

The college district has begun a needs assessment study of Malibu. It approved a consulting contract with former interim Malibu City Manager John Jalili on Monday. Jalili will head workshops beginning this summer with Malibu residents to determine what they want for educational services in the city.