Voters of the Antelope Valley Community College District (AVCCD) have approved Measure AV by a margin of 66.92 percent of the over 78,000 ballots cast in northern Los Angeles and southern Kern counties.
Many of the classroom and student service facilities at AVC have not been updated in over 50 years. Academic facilities need safety upgrades, repairs, and other improvements to meet modern job-training, technological and safety standards to keep the college in good condition for years to come.
“Measure AV will fund college infrastructure essential to the 21st-century learning required for jobs in aerospace, engineering, manufacturing, health and other critical local industries,” President/Superintendent Ed Knudson said. “These funds will insure the college can meet the educational and workforce development needs of the Antelope Valley for the next 50 years.”
The district long-range facility master plan for the Lancaster campus include updates to campus infrastructure, construction of new academic commons, career and technical education facilities, a student services building, a community center, university center, gymnasium renovations, three instructional buildings and a fine arts complex.
Measure AV follows the guidelines of Proposition 39, which requires approval by 55 percent of the voters within the college district. It also includes accountability measures including a citizens’ oversight committee and annual audits. All funds will be spent in Antelope Valley, cannot be taken away by the state and help qualify the college for state matching funds. The measure’s impact on homeowners will be $25 per $100,000 of assessed value (not market value), which will generate $350 million for the district.
“Our commitment has always been to the needs of the local community, students and returning veterans,” President/Superintendent Ed Knudson said. “I am privileged and humbled to work in a community that recognizes and supports the role of public higher education.”
