Public higher education is a public good.  It produces the nurses, mechanics and electricians as well as the doctors, lawyers and bankers our society depends upon. The Foothill-De Anza Community College District, serving the largest number of undergraduates of any institution in the Bay Area, is asking the public to invest in this higher good by voting “yes” on Measures G and H in the March 3 election.  A “yes” vote will help keep higher education affordable for students and help faculty afford to live and work in the increasingly costly Silicon Valley.

Whether it’s learning a trade, pursuing an associates degree or transferring to a four-year institution, Foothill-De Anza gives students a sense of purpose and an opportunity to enter the middle class.  Our graduates not only fulfill important community roles, but also contribute back to the economy.  However, the housing crisis, the exorbitant cost of living in Silicon Valley, the Bay Area’s overburdened infrastructure make it difficult for students and faculty alike to afford the business of living and working here.

Measure G is a general bond which will enable improvements to our colleges’ aging facilities, making our campuses more efficient, greener, technologically updated, fostering an environment which enhances learning and makes teaching more effective.  It would enable partnerships with other school districts and other housing solutions.  Rather than generalizing about “blank checks” and “accountability,” our critics should read the list of potential projects and other information at https://www.fhda.edu/MeasuresGandH.html and explain which proposed expenditures they feel are not legitimate.  All $898 million is accounted for.  In a recent report, the investment firm Morgan-Stanley said that “[o]ver the years, the district has been prudent in refinancing higher rates to lower rates” and has produced “taxpayer savings of over $65.8 million.”

Measure H, at $48 per parcel, is a modest parcel tax relative to some already approved for other school districts, raising approximately $5.6 million annually for five years.  By law, it cannot be used on administrative salaries, another piece of misinformation you hear from anti-tax groups like the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association.  What it can do is help address concerns the bond cannot, such as the 52% of our local students who face food insecurity, or faculty who must spend hours commuting from Gilroy, the East Bay, and the Central Valley because they can’t afford to live anywhere near where they work.  These are not the rare individuals making $200,000 per year, the kind of cherry-picked and misrepresentative data our opponents like to cite when they report on teacher salaries.  Rather, the vast majority are newer faculty, trying to raise families, hoping one day to be able to afford a house in the area.

What about the state, you ask? Shouldn’t it be responsible for putting more money into the community college system?  Yes, it should.  At present, however, Bay Area colleges are largely hampered by a new funding formula which does not include a cost of living index, effectively funding all colleges alike, whether located in San Jose or Bakersfield.  But when our legislators see voters engaging in direct democracy by approving ballot measures like G and H, it gets their attention.  Already, we are endorsed by a host of local and state leaders and organizations including Assemblyman Marc Berman, state Sen. Jerry Hill, Assemblyman Evan Low, the Cupertino-Sunnyvale League of Women Voters, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the Silicon Valley Organization.  So please, pitch in and help us do our part to help students, faculty and the surrounding community by voting yes on G and H.

Tim Shively is president of the Foothill-De Anza Faculty Association.