Yes on Measure A

That’s essentially the choice Sacramento area voters face with Measure A, the general obligation bond on the March 5 ballot. Pass it, and we’ll raise $265 million needed to help the Los Rios Community College District accommodate the extraordinary growth our region is experiencing. But give Measure A the thumbs down, and our area will pay a much greater price: the crippling of one of the driving forces of this region’s economy.

The need for this bond should be obvious to everyone living in the Sacramento area: our community is growing, and the district’s enrollment is growing even faster. Cosumnes River College has 13 percent more students than it had just a year ago; American River College has seen a 10 percent rise in enrollment in the same period, and Sacramento City College is up 6 percent. Obviously, the district is going to have to expand its facilities, and that’s going to cost money.

The district’s estimate is that it will take $523 million to do the necessary building and renovation. In a perfect world, we might expect the state to pick up the whole tab, but in California, state laws make it next to impossible to get money for construction projects without matching dollars from local sources.

Which brings us to Measure A: This is an extremely efficient bond that will bring local taxpayers the greatest possible bang for their buck. For a mere $9.96 annually per every $100,000 in assessed value a property owner possesses, the district will be able to raise the funds needed to keep its doors open to the thousands of local adults who come to it seeking job training, skills and education. That’s less than one one-thousandth of a cent on the dollar!

Of course, there are always going to be some people who feel that even this minute assessment is too much. Predictably, the anti-tax Sacramento Taxpayers’ Rights League has voiced its opposition, and we’re sure there are readers who already feel overtaxed and might be inclined to vote against Measure A out of sheer frustration.

We feel your pain. But there is such a thing as being penny-wise and pound-foolish, and a defeat for Measure A would cost everyone in the Sacramento area much more than that $9.96 assessment.

That’s because Los Rios plays an extremely important role in the region’s economy. As tuition at state colleges and universities has skyrocketed, Los Rios offers vital access to higher education to families not affluent enough to send their kids to Cal, UC or Stanford. It’s a place to learn English as a second language, to learn professional skills or take courses needed to get into a four-year college. Removing any of these vital services would mean fewer of our kids going to college, a less well-trained work force and a disaster for the local economy.

Let’s not let that happen. Let’s pass Measure A.