The voter-approved 2008 bond is scheduled to retire in 2026
Salem, Ore., June 26, 2024— The Chemeketa Community College Board of Education unanimously voted to approve Resolution No. 23-24-13, calling for a General Obligation Bond Measure to be included in the November election. Voters will decide whether to approve this bond measure which will provide funding for the following key initiatives:
- Expanding career and technical education: Increase capacity in healthcare, the trades, and emergency services.
- Brooks Center reconfiguration: Expand programming for healthcare and emergency services.
- Building 33 renovation: Create a new trades center for apprenticeship programs (plumbing, HVAC, sheet metal) on the Salem Campus.
- Building 7 renovation: Modernize the 1981 structure for health and wellness programming, complementing its current physical education use and reconfiguring it with federal matching funds to serve the community as a disaster resource site.
- Classroom modernization: Keep pace with technological and academic best practices.
- Campus Safety and Deferred Maintenance Projects: These projects cover HVAC systems, parking lot maintenance, outdoor lighting, video cameras, and compliance measures.
- Woodburn Center: Introduce a new science lab which would allow students to complete associate degrees locally. (The Center does not currently have a science lab.)
- Student engagement: Create spaces to support student services, focusing on Salem Campus’s Building 2 and athletic fields.
If passed, the new Bond rate will remain the same as the expiring 2008 Bond rate, which is $0.27 per $1,000 of assessed property value. For a home valued at $280,000, the property owner would continue to pay $75.60 per year, or 20 cents per day. If passed, the 2024 bond will generate $140 million in revenue designated for campus/center improvements.
