Bond election set

The Board of Trustees of the Dallas County Community College District has approved a $450 million dollar general obligation bond election to be held on May 15. If approved by Dallas taxpayers, the bond issue will finance sweeping upgrades at every DCCCD campus, including North Lake.

“This is a new era in the history of the District,” said DCCCD chancellor Jesus “Jess” Carreon, “and this plan reflects me.”

While much of the planning occurred before his appointment as chancellor last year, Carreon has pushed for the bond issue, and admits that, if passed, it will be one of the most significant events in his tenure to date, and possibly far into the future.

The bond issue would fund the Master Facilities Development Plan, which is designed to meet an expected district-wide surge in enrollment over the next decade. The plan would include significant increases in parking and classrooms at North Lake, as well as the addition of a new learning center in northwest Dallas County over the next ten years.

Also planned are expanded facilities for science and medical professions, workforce development, and visual and performing arts. The North Lake portion of the plan is expected to cost roughly $50 million.

The last election for general obligation bonds in Dallas County was in 1972. Voters approved it and funded, among other things, the creation of North Lake College.

In town hall-style meetings held county-wide last month, Carreon told voters that the DCCCD will see a 10 percent enrollment increase in the next decade while state funding is expected to stay, at best, flat.

The district tax rate is forty-fifth lowest among all 50 state community colleges, though that would change with the bond issue. A bond is essentially a promise to repay a sum of money at a future date with interest.

A portion of county property taxes will help repay the principal $450 million plus interest over the next 10 years. For a Dallas taxpayer with $150,000 property, the bond issue amounts to an approximate increase of $30 annually for the next 10 years.

If passed, the first bond issues would fund design, said Carreon. No ground will be broken on any of the projects for several years.

In the meantime, maintenance projects, like the current waterproofing repairs, will continue, funded by a pending sale of $40 million in tax notes, which don’t require direct voter funding or approval.

But while maintenance efforts will continue, Carreon said those efforts don’t solve the root problem. Passage of the bond issue would mean new facilities, he said, which is the only way to meet future demands.

“Let’s put it this way. No matter how many face-lifts you give a 65-year-old, they’re still 65,” Carreon said.