ngwsed@clackamas.edu
Wednesday, May 11,2011
The Clackamas Print 3
ditorial: Measure compounds debt
/¡th May 17 fast approach-
Clackamas County voters
Id have received their bai
ty now. On the ballot there
item that if you vote “yes”
jive Clackamas Community
;ge $130 million. We at The
kuinas Print feel that you
Id vote “no” on the bond
lie bond measure, if passed,
Id give the college money to
id on building renovations
■structure improvements,
technologies, possibly
Ing the Oregon Institute of
Biology building and pay
off the existing debt of the
pony campus.
b March, the college present-
i detailed look into the out
ing debt of both the 2000
j measure and the certifi-
lof participation we took for
ding the Harmony campus,
ording to the college, at the
of this fiscal year in June,
¡rill still have an outstanding
nee of more than $32 mil-
on the 2000 bond measure
more than $17 million for
mony. That is a total of over
million that the college is
bted for on these two items
ut with , such a deep hole
sbt, should we take out our
els and dig deeper? This
measure would take care
le debt for Harmony but
d also saddle us for more
$162.6 million worth of
bond debt.
A portion of the bond is
intended to upgrade technology
for the automotive, manufactur
ing and science departments so
that students may learn and be
ready for the in-demand jobs that
require technology that CCC
doesn’t currently have.. This is
an investment opportunity that
CCC should have been work
ing on for a long time, since the
surge in popularity of the hybrid
car.
We should aggressively pur
sue more grants and donations
of equipment before we put
ourselves further in debt. And
the same can be applied for the
manufacturing department.
In the previous months,
Robert Delgatto, manufacturing
instructor and president of the
ful 1-time faculty association, has
stated in the board of education
meetings that both Boeing and
Nike are interested in hiring or
including CCC students in their
summer internships instead of
outsourcing.
Since they seem to be very
interested in the programs at
CCC and both companies have
manufacturing jobs in the state, it
would seem to be a “no-brainer”
to attempt a corporate sponsor
ship. Both companies are finan
cially stable, interested in our
students and their jobs require
ski 1 Is on some of the latest man
ufacturing technology available.
A private company’s sponsor
19839 S. Hwy. 213
egon City, Oregon, 97045
Call: (503) 655-6540
Fæg $03) 65t^^|-ÿ
WWW
ship at a public institution may
seem blasphemous, but it would
help all parties. Corporations
would receive not only media
attention but potentially very
skilled workers for their plants.
Students will get the skills and
experience on current technol
ogies they need along with a
potential internship that could
lead to a career in their field. The
college would get the equipment
it needs at minimal cost, with a
potential of getting even more
manufacturing students. Also,
the county wouldn’t have to foot
BT/A swcTz a deep hole
of debt, should we take
out our shovels and
dig deeper?
the bill.
Buying OIT will potentially
cost tiie college $16 million,
according to Louis De Sitter, a
spokesman in favor to the bond.
However, the state is willing to
match CCC’s $8 million towards
the building. The college is
also planning to use the bond
monies to build a new build
ing that they are currently call
ing the “Advanced Technology
Learning Center.”
“It will be a large building
with warehouse style classrooms
with mechanics in it that will
allow you to move in and out of
big technologies really quickly,”
said De Sitter.
Buying OIT will only
increase the depth of the hole we
are digging. The building that
we would be buying is aging
and will possibly require a rea
sonable amount of maintenance.
The college deferred the main
tenance of many of the build
ings, elevators and other items
the bond will pay for in favor of
keeping programs alive and to
delay laying off instructors.
If we deferred a lot of bur
maintenance costs, then what
will the addition of two new
buildings do? Both will be fed
erally required to be accessible
by the disabled. Roofing issues
will be the same as any other
building in Oregon and by the
sound of the mechanisms inside
this “Advanced Technology
Learning Center,” the possibili
ties for a technical malfunction
would not only affect one class
but every class that is taught in
there until it is fixed.
Also, the idea of the tech
learning center brings back the
idea of the corporate sponsor
ships. The practice of ignoring
the maintenance of the Oregon
City campus in favor of pro
grams and instructors is noble
but questions whether or not the
college will appropriately handle
things in the fiiture with two new
buildings.
There are other things that the
college can do to reduce conges
tion for classroom space. Marry
the idea of live Web streaming
with lectures. If there are high-
demand classes that are based
around lecture, such as politi
cal science, math and computer
science, the school can set up a
service that will allow students
to view lectures via the internet.
Will it increase workload
on the instructor? Yes. Will it
increase the class’s capacity for
more students? Yes. Will it cost
the college money? Yes and no.
By implementing this idfea,
the seats for classes can open
up dramatically. Those that can
access the class via a high speed
internet connection can give their
physical class seat to someone
else who needs it The college
can al so tack on a technology fee
on the “virtual” class registration
to help maintain and pay off the
cost of the system.
The college also has three
large areas that can house up to
quadruple the amount of stu
dents that any regular class can:
Gregory Forum, the Osterman
Theatre and the theater in
McLoughlin. These areas would
be ideal for lecture classes that
are in high-demand if the above
webcast idea is inconceivable.
The college has not done
everything to prepare for where
we are today. As stated in this
editorial, there are several alter
natives to burdening this college
Studio, 1,2 & 3 Bedroom Apartment Homes
High Speed Internet & Cable Capabilities
Washer & Dryer Appliances*
24 hour Fitness Gym
One Block from Clackamas Community College
liliiil.
' -
.Jib