Foothill and De Anza colleges could be in line for multi-million dollar facelifts as early as next year. The De Anza-Foothill College District Board of Trustees was scheduled to decide Monday night whether or not to place a $248 million school bond on this November's ballot.
Chancellor Leo Chavez said the bond proposal was not a "spur of the moment decision. We've been working intensively on it for the past two years, identifying projects."
Chavez said, if approved, the bond would be used to repair and upgrade campus buildings at both Foothill and De Anza, which have not been renovated since they were built between 30 and 40 years ago.
He said much of the renovation work would focus on upgrading the schools' science and chemistry labs and electrical wiring, which he said are outdated for today's technology.
"We've added about 4,000 computers in the last four or five years," Chavez said. "That's an enormous strain on the electrical system."
The bond would also be used to upgrade campus restrooms, ventilation and air- airair-conditioning systems and to bring the schools up to code. He said the bond could be used to fund the addition of more classrooms.
"We haven't added a single building to the campus(es) in 30 or 40 years," Chavez said. "They are seriously impacted. We have 12 classes at De Anza for this fall that don't have classroom space. It's a habitual problem."
Chavez said the proposed construction projects would take about 11 years to complete. He said the bond would cost property owners about $14 per $100,000 of assessed valuation per year over the next 25 years.
The De Anza-Foothill College District includes Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino and parts of San Jose and Santa Clara.
Board president Dolores Sandoval said she was hopeful that the board would approve the bond proposal for November's ballot.