NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The new state budget includes millions of dollars that will pay for the building of new facilities in the Yuba Community College District.
The Yuba Community College District announced that on June 27, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a State Budget Act which includes $535.3 million in capital outlay funding from Proposition 51, approved by voters in 2016.
The funding will support 20 continuing projects and 39 new projects including the district’s performing arts/culinary capital project at Woodland Community College.
Focused advocacy by the Yuba Community College District Governing Board was conducted during the 2019 Legislative Session, requesting the governor consider including the Woodland Community College performing arts/culinary capital project in the 2019-2020 State Budget to fulfill a long-awaited promise to the local voters of the Yuba Community College District.
The project will provide for a new facility to consolidate and expand space for Woodland Community College’s Performing, Fine Arts and Speech programs while creating space for the new Culinary Arts program.
The proposed new building will consist of 29,118 area square feet with a variety of classrooms, laboratories, office space, and a new performing arts theater. The facility is estimated to cost a total of $42 million with the state matching $18,872,000 of the total cost of the building.
“On behalf of the YCCD Governing Board, I want to express my appreciation to the governor and the California Legislature for approving the state matching funds so that we can construct this critical WCC facility,” said Chancellor Dr. Douglas B. Houston stated. “This construction project enables us to keep a commitment to voters and will serve the students of Yolo, Colusa and Lake counties for future generations."
The Woodland Community College performing arts/culinary capital project was included in the Measure J General Obligation Bond project list approved by voters in 2006 and has been included on the California Community College Board of Governors approved project list since it was submitted in 2009.
“These are exciting times for our college,” said WCC President Dr. Art Pimentel added. “The new facility will allow us to optimize our students’ academic experience. The new building will enable us to offer additional programs in culinary arts as well as increase the variety of courses we offer in the visual and performing arts. We are grateful to the voters for continuing to support the long term vision of a comprehensive community college that provides exciting and dynamic academic programs for our student body.”
The Yuba Community College District spans eight counties and nearly 4,192 square miles. Yuba College and Woodland Community College offer degrees, certificates and transfer curricula at college campuses in Marysville and Woodland, educational centers in Clearlake and Yuba City, and through outreach operations in Williams and on Beale Air Force Base.
The two colleges in Yolo County and Yuba County and the campuses in Clearlake, Colusa and Sutter counties, serve 13,000 students.
Yuba Community College District gets approval for new performing arts and culinary services facility
- Lake County News reports
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