Staff Editorial :
Vote YES on Measure 26-83!

The evidence is in Mt. Hood Community College’s crumbling walls and ceiling. The evidence is in the sinking floors and degrading foundation of the Early Childhood Education Center. The evidence is in the malfunctioning and dangerous equipment on its last leg.

Measure No. 26-83 will issue general obligation bonds with about $58.8 million to cover a small portion of the $227 million of needed work proposed by various architects, engineers and construction specialists that have inspected MHCC. The money is to assist the college in an effort to modernize and upgrade the facility to today’s standards.

Some parts of the college scheduled for repair haven’t been repaired for 32 to 36 years, about the time MHCC first opened. These areas are places students walk over each and everyday and ignore the poor structure because, to them, it’s normal. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With assistance from this bond, the potholes you drive over in the morning could be gone, and that leaky roof you walk past every day can be repaired.

$8.5 million will go toward increasing student, staff safety and security. This includes renovation of parking lots, walkways, common areas, upgrading lighting and trimming overgrown foliage. For students and staff, this mean less rain puddles to jump over and a safer environment for night students. The leaky roof, and several mechanical and architectural aspects will be fixed with $9.98 million from the bond. This means fewer leaks in classrooms, walkways and an updated version of the exterior architecture.

Of all the items on the repair list, the biggest cry comes from the Early Childhood Education Center. Housing about 90 students 1-5 years old several days a week, the 30-year-old building that was built as a “temporary/modular building” is feeling its age. If the bond is passed, a new permanent facility will be built for them. The $2.2 million project will help not only the school but also many students and staff who depend on the facility as a day care while they’re attending classes.

At Wednesday’s board meeting, MHCC President Robert Silverman said more about new state requirements being pressed against the facility, saying that the new “standards would make [the center] non-functional.”

This bond has the opportunity to make this college shine in its community, a college that has helped more than 838,000 students and residents and has contributed $603 million to local business and the overall economy every year it’s been in business. The college that has given so much to its students is now asking for one thing, and that’s your vote to pass this bond.

Help not only yourself but the millions of potential students, local residents and teachers who look to Mt. Hood as a stepping stone to a university, the workers looking to improve their skills, and those in need of a second chance at receiving their education.