$8.8M headed to LTCC in matching funds for classroom modernization

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A promise made to the community when they voted to pass Measure F in 2014 is coming to fruition after Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) was notified they are receiving $8.8M in matching funds for the modernization of their campus. This sets the stage for $17.6 million to be spent on modernization and upgrades to LTCC’s main building.

It took many trips to Sacramento over the 15 months by LTCC Superintendent/President Jeff DeFranco and his leadership team to convince lawmakers funds from Proposition 51 to should head to South Lake Tahoe. College leadership participated in more than 50 meetings in Sacramento to help bring in the matching dollar funding.

“The matching $8.8 million will literally transform this campus,” said Jeff DeFranco. “Without these matching dollars, we wouldn’t be able to do what we’re about to do, which is to modernize more of the campus, including our science and art labs. We’ll now be able to roll out the kind of modern furniture and cutting-edge teaching technology we’ve seen in a few classrooms to more of the campus. Every student here will benefit from this, enhancing their learning no matter which room on campus they’re in.”

When the college originally asked taxpayers to support Measure F in November 2014, it was premised on the idea that California would match a portion of the construction costs, allowing for more modernizing and renovating to happen. Shortly after the bond measure passed, then-Governor Jerry Brown, who was fiscally conservative, adopted a practice to reduce state financial liabilities. This practice reduced the number of construction projects that were approved annually, including LTCC’s, making the completion of the Main Building work nearly impossible until now.

In the state’s budget that passed on June 13, legislators agreed to match $8.8 million of existing local Measure F bond monies with $8.8 million of state Proposition 51 funding, giving LTCC a total of $17.6 million for Main Building modernization as well as safety and efficiency improvements. Specifically, the funding can be spent on modernizing classrooms including science and art labs, the Disability Resource Center and student support spaces, a new ADA-compliant front entrance to the Main Building, and other ADA, health, and safety improvements within the Main Building.

This construction project was originally submitted to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office for consideration back in 2012 as the “Remodel for Efficiency and Science Modernization” project. In Spring 2018, the college made a conscious effort to ramp up its advocacy efforts to bring these promised funds to South Lake Tahoe.

“It took a lot of conversations with state Department of Finance staff, the Chancellor’s Office, the Governor’s office, with our assemblyman, Frank Bigelow, and with various Senate and Assembly leaders and their staff, but this effort has paid off handsomely for our students,” said DeFranco. “The South Lake Tahoe community was promised a modernized community college facility when voters approved Measure F. Our commitment to that promise is what led to this funding finally falling into place.”

It will take LTCC several years to complete the Main Building work while continuing to offer uninterrupted services and classroom learning to students. For the next year, the work will revolve entirely around project design and planning. Funding to begin these Main Building projects will arrive early in fiscal year 2019/20, which begins on July 1.