SAN DIEGO (CNS) — The San Diego Community College District has sold $850 million of bonds following the passing of Measure HH last November, it was announced today.
That $3.5 billion bond measure is intended to upgrade the district's campuses throughout San Diego and was passed by more than 60% of voters.
The general obligation bonds will be sold over a decade or two to provide funding for the district's modernization efforts such as affordable student housing at San Diego City College, an English and Student Resource Center at Mesa College, a renovated aviation facility operated by Miramar College at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, and the expansion and renovation of San Diego College of Continuing Education's Educational Cultural Complex.
"The district has been very intentional and we've done a lot of
planning to ensure that we minimize the cost to taxpayers and to maximize the return on their investment, and one of the key factors in that is time," said Joel Peterson, SDCCD's vice chancellor and executive operations officer. "The quicker we can begin these projects, the lower the cost it will be. By being
among the first in the state to issue bonds, we will have less competition in the bond market and the interest rates will be lower."
Of those $850 million in bonds sold in January, $725 million is tax-exempt, according to the district.
"The district's timeline had underwriters buying the bonds from the district this month to sell to institutional and private investors, with proceeds held by the San Diego County Office of Education until needed," according to the district.
The SDCCD Board of Trustees is seeking to establish a Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee, while a planning and design process will follow the bond sales. This process is expected to continue into early 2026.
Measure HH will result in an added 2.5 cents annual tax burden per $100 of property value, meaning a home with an assessed value of $500,000 would pay $125 annually.
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