Three key state bond issues on the ballot this November could provide more resources to higher education institutions in California, New Mexico and Rhode Island if voters sign off.
Meanwhile, voters in Utah will also weigh in on a ballot question that would boost funding for colleges without the state taking on more debt.
Where and how funding would be applied varies from state to state, ranging from improving the basic functionality of community college buildings to increasing the investment in innovation and technology at flagships. But all four ballot measures seem to have more support than opposition just over a week out from Election Day.
Over all, there are nearly 160 statewide ballot measures across 41 states, according to Ballotpedia. Just a handful of those concern higher education. Here’s a rundown on the measures we’re watching.
Keeping the Lights on in California
As heating and cooling systems fail, ceilings cave in and sewage systems hover on the brink of bursting, CalMatters reports that community colleges across California are in disrepair, and it’s up to voters to decide whether these aging facilities are worth fixing.
If passed, the ballot measure, Proposition 2, will allow the state to borrow $10 billion to construct new buildings or fix ailing ones that serve learners in the state’s primary, secondary and associate degree programs. Although the majority of the funding would go toward K-12 projects, 15 percent, or $1.5 billion, would help community colleges. A no vote, on the other hand, would prevent California from adding on to its existing $80 billion in bond debt.
So far, a majority of likely voters (54 percent) support the measure, according to recent survey from the Public Policy Institute of California. But passage isn’t guaranteed. When lawmakers put a similar $15 billion proposal on the ballot in 2020, Californians rejected it.
Supporters include the California Teachers Association, the Community College League of California and Assembly Member Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat who co-authored the bill that put Proposition 2 on the November ballot. Muratsuchi told Capital Public Radio that nearly half of the state’s public education facilities are over 60 years old and that previous estimates show public schools have over $100 billion in unmet operational needs.
But opponents, such as Assembly Member Bill Essayli, a Republican, and Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, argued that increasing state debt is not the right approach. “The responsibility for funding these facilities should lie with local entities,” Coupal told CPR, explaining that districts should leverage their own local education bonds instead.
Updating Facilities in New Mexico
The higher education bond package in New Mexico under Question 3 is significantly smaller than the one in California, at $230 million, but it’s the largest of four bonds on the ballot in the Southwestern desert state, The Albuquerque Journal reports. If constituents vote yes, the bond would allow for capital improvements across higher education institutions—including tribal colleges and universities. The state’s land-grant and flagship institutions would benefit most.
For example, New Mexico State University in Las Cruces would get $50.5 million for its main campus, branch campuses and agricultural science and experimentation stations, according to the Journal. The University of New Mexico would get $94.5 million to build a new humanities and social science facility at the Albuquerque campus, as well as remodel and expand the College of Pharmacy. New Mexicans have historically approved bonds, though they voted down a $150 million bond package in 2010—the last time such a measure failed, the Journal reported.
Bolstering Biomed in Rhode Island
In Rhode Island, a $160.5 million measure could help to advance the state’s prospects as a leader in biomedical sciences and cybersecurity. Supporters told The Boston Globe that those fields represent good-paying jobs, economic prosperity and better health outcomes for the state.
More than 5,770 Rhode Islanders currently work in the biotech industry, with 666 biotech companies currently located in the state, according to the University of Rhode Island. Cybersecurity skills and experience are also in demand, with 2,700 current job openings in Rhode Island alone and over half a million unfilled positions across the United States.
Administrators at the University of Rhode and Rhode Island College, which would benefit from the bond measure, along with a variety of local elected officials, are urging state residents to vote yes on Question 2. The University of Rhode Island would get $87.5 million to build a biomedical sciences building to improve its research infrastructure. Approving Question 2 would also send $73 million to Rhode Island College, which is planning to renovate a 66-year-old building into the home of the college’s Institute of Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies.
Pulling From Permanent Funds
In Utah, voters don’t have to approve a bond measure, but state officials do want more flexibility in how much they can spend on education.
If passed, the legislative change, known as Amendment B, would increase the limit on annual distributions from the State School Fund, a permanently set aside pot of funding, from 4 percent to 5 percent—boosting appropriations for Utah public schools, colleges and universities at no cost to taxpayers. If the amendment passes, the state would be able to distribute an additional $14 million from the $3.3 billion fund. Public institutions received about $106 million this past academic year.
Over all, the proposal has received broad support. Officials say that the fund has grown significantly over the years with revenue generated from land trusts and investments, and it’s time for payouts to grow as well. “Because of consistently strong investment returns, the fund needs to pay out more of its earnings today,” Utah treasurer Marlo Oaks told KSL TV 5. “Amendment B will give the School and Institutional Trust Funds Office the flexibility to meet its fiduciary obligation to balance funding between current and future students.”
Notable Nonfunding Measures
Outside of state-level funding issues, higher education policy experts are paying the most attention to a ballot measure in Nevada that, if passed, would allow for the overhaul of higher education governance in the Silver State.
Known as Question 1, the referendum would eliminate reference to the current system, which includes an elected board of higher education, from the state Constitution. It comes as the result of long-running tensions between the Legislature and the Nevada System of Higher Education’s chancellor and its regents. Lawmakers argue the existing structure gives too much power and not enough accountability to the 13-member panel—allowing the regents to see themselves on equal footing with the State Legislature and immune from oversight. But current regents and other opponents argue that allowing the Legislature to appoint board members could further politicize higher education and hurt academic freedom.
Others outside of Nevada include:
- Constitutional Amendment 3 in New Mexico, which would allow the dean of the University of New Mexico Law School to designate an individual to serve as chair for the appellate judges nominating commission when needed.
- Question 2 in Massachusetts, which would repeal the requirement that students must achieve a certain competency level on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam to graduate high school. They would still, however, be required to complete all local or district graduation requirements.
