COLLEGE LEADERS WATCH BOND FUNDS.

Byline: Adriana D. Barrera, Tyree Wieder and Rocky Young Local View

THIS is a very exciting time for the San Fernando Valley's community colleges. We are beginning $442 million in construction expenditures to upgrade the classrooms, lighting and other facilities to give students and the community at the Mission, Valley and Pierce campuses the best opportunity for educational success.

We owe a great debt of gratitude to the residents of the San Fernando Valley for their support of Proposition A, the $1.2 billion bond measure that was approved in April.

In return, we pledge to ensure that all the money is spent wisely, and, in every case possible, we are making sure that the community will have greater access to community college facilities than ever before.

From our offices, we can monitor the progress of the Proposition A-funded construction. We are able to walk over to the sites and watch the crews at work. We have direct access to the general contractors who are doing the work, and we have a pipeline to the project manager.

We are in constant contact with the citizens' oversight committees, which include business and community leaders who will monitor the expenditure of bond-measure funds to ensure that spending is for construction and not administrative salaries.

In short, we are keenly aware of how much faith you put in the district in approving Proposition A and investing in your communities. We will not let you down.

While the primary reason for all the construction work is to improve the learning centers for our growing student populations, there is a community aspect to these programs as well. Our campuses are open for all to use.

Among the $165 million in projects slated for Valley College is a remodeled gymnasium that will be accessible to the disabled.

Some of the first Proposition A projects will be a new library building, a new media arts building and a new allied health and sciences building.

These projects will replace aging structures and ``temporary'' bungalows with top-quality centers to house our media-arts and science-education programs.

At Pierce, the work is already under way. Construction has begun on the new Student Store and Support Services Building.

With student enrollment increasing by more than 33 percent last year and no new buildings on campus in decades, this project is a significant step in improving the highest quality of education at Pierce.

In the coming years, there will be $166 million in construction work. There will be a new science-agriculture and nursing building, renovations to the library and classrooms.

Our Proposition A funds will build instructional facilities, including a child-development center and horticulture building.

Mission College has begun construction of its first Proposition A project. Expansion of the Instructional Building to double the space available for such student services, as in admissions and financial aid, is under way.

Proposition A earmarked $111 million for Mission to address dire needs for additional classroom space, a new wellness and health center, a media- arts facility and modernization of the Campus Center. A planned parking structure will ease the inconvenience to neighbors of students parking on surrounding streets.

Our message to the residents of the San Fernando Valley is that Valley, Pierce and Mission are your colleges. We are proud to educate you and your children. We welcome you to our campuses, and we promise to make the best use of your tax dollars as we bring our learning centers into the 21st century.