When the fate of Proposition 55 is decided in the March 2
election, the voters’ decision will have immediate and
far-reaching effects at UCLA.
Proposition 55 would provide a bond of $12.3 billion to fund the
repair and maintenance of California schools. Of that sum,
approximately $70 million would be allotted to UCLA.
Though the measure has yet to pass, the University of California
Board of Regents has already made preliminary plans for the
projects to be financed by the bond.
In a Feb. 27 e-mail to the UCLA community, Michael Eicher, vice
chancellor of external affairs, outlined the impact of Proposition
55.
A majority of the money would go toward seismic corrections of
the Geology Building, Campbell Hall, the Graduate School of
Education and Information Studies and the Center for Health
Services at UCLA.
These facilities, characterized by outdated infrastructures that
leave them vulnerable to earthquakes, could pose a safety risk if
they are not seismically reinforced.
Steve Olsen, UCLA vice chancellor of budget and finance,
described the seismic modifications to be funded by the bond as
“essential.”
In addition to these corrections, a portion of the $70 million
would finance the replacement of the current Life Sciences
Building.
“This building is obsolete,” Olsen said, adding that
the risks posed by such an aged infrastructure could prove
dangerous if uncorrected.
But perhaps the most important ““ and time sensitive
““ project to be funded by the bond is the renovation of the
medical school laboratories.
When the section of UCLA Medical Center currently under
construction reopens in 2005, safety laws obligate UCLA to either
renovate or demolish the laboratories.
Without money from the bond, the university will likely be
forced to tear down the laboratories. The costs of such demolition,
both in funds and lost university facilities, would be a huge loss
for UCLA.
The passage of Proposition 55 is far from certain. The defeat of
the measure ““ it was only up by eight percentage points in a
recent Los Angeles Times poll ““ is a frightening prospect for
university officials.
Without the money provided by the bond, many planned projects
will have to be deferred, Olsen said.
Such a development would have dramatic effects on the UCLA
community.
Opponents of Proposition 55 argue that the financial burden
imposed by the bond makes it detrimental to California’s
economy.
The state would need to pay $823 million per year for the next
30 years to pay off the bond. With an estimated budget deficit of
over $10 billion for the coming year, any addition expenses would
only further constrain and limit the state’s economy,
opponents say.
Disregarding financial arguments, Josh Brooks, a sixth-year
geography student, had a simpler, but no less adamant, thought on
Proposition 55.
“We don’t want kids in school and buildings
collapsing on them,” he said. “That would be
horrible.”