PASSAGE OF BOND MEASURE EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS FUNDS TO HELP MEET GROWING ENROLLMENT, ECONOMIC NEEDS.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Voters overwhelmingly approved a $139 million bond measure for Antelope Valley College, providing money supporters said is sorely needed to meet both growing enrollment and the economic needs of the community.

Needing 55 percent of the vote to pass, Measure R garnered 69.4 percent.

``The community came out for the college,'' said Lancaster resident Donita Winn, who chaired a committee pushing the bond issue. ``I've always believed if you're honest with the voters and explain why you need a bond and that there is no other way to get the money, they will do the right thing.''

The bond money will qualify the college for up to $417 million in state matching funds to expand the Lancaster campus to accommodate 20,000 students and build a Palmdale campus for 10,000. AVC has nearly 13,000 students now.

The bond will help build facilities for training more students in critical careers such as nursing and engineering, AVC officials said.

Measure R will boost property taxes $19.50 a year for every $100,000 of assessed value.

AVC board President Michael Adams said he believed that while Antelope Valley residents are weary of taxes they realized it was needed. The bond issue's approval was an indication of the college's support in the community, he said.

``It was overwhelming,'' Adams said of the vote. ``It exceeded our expectations of how we would do.''

College President Jackie Fisher said one of the first things to occur will be the creation of an oversight committee of citizens to watch over bond spending. College officials will also formalize a priority list for projects.

Among the work to be financed by the bonds are the construction of a science and allied health building, a high-technology learning center, and an automotive technology building.

With much of the Lancaster campus more than 40 years old, the bond money will also help the college renovate existing buildings and repair or replace water, gas and sewer lines.

Part of the bond funding will go toward establishing a permanent campus in Palmdale, but there are hurdles to cross before that project can move forward.

The college has to show solid enrollment, the equivalent of 500 full-time students, at its temporary campus before the state would approve a permanent campus. This fall, AVC started classes in Palmdale using the third floor of a Palmdale Boulevard office building.

Attendance in Palmdale this fall is roughly 200 full-time equivalent students.

The college is working to establish a permanent campus on 80 acres south of Barrel Springs Road between 37th and 47th streets east. The campus would be part of a master-planned housing development proposed on 540 acres.

Another stumbling block for that campus is the cost of bringing roads, sidewalks, sewer, water and electrical improvements to the site and how much of that cost should be borne by the college. The cost is listed at $9.5 million on the college's facilities master plan, but college officials said the true cost is probably closer to $12 million or $14 million.

Jim Skeen, [phone]

james.skeen(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

Antelope Valley