PASADENA, Texas – Based on preliminary figures, voters in the San Jacinto College District have given their approval for the District to move ahead with a $295 million bond measure to fund construction and renovation projects on each of its three campuses.

Members of the San Jacinto College Board of Trustees gathered to canvass the results of the bond election held Saturday, May 10, 2008. The election turned out almost 5,000 voters, of which 71 percent voted in favor of the $295 million bond referendum. Board members who canvassed the results are (standing, left to right): JD Bruce and Wayne Slovacek; (seated, left to right): Ben Meador (Secretary), Dan Mims (Vice Chairman) and Marie Flickinger (Chairman).

The unofficial count of today’s election saw 71 percent of voters approve the capital improvement bond program, with a vote of 3,335 for the bond to 1,363 against. The votes will become official on Thursday, May 15, 2008, upon certification from the San Jacinto College Board of Trustees.

“We are ecstatic that the San Jacinto College bond measure passed,” said Dr. Bill Lindemann, San Jacinto College Chancellor. “We cannot express enough our appreciation and gratitude to the voters of East Harris County for their support, enabling the College to continue offering our citizens cutting-edge post-secondary education, ensuring that the workforce in East Harris County is second to none.”

The election drew voters from each of the independent school districts (ISD’s) that make up the San Jacinto College District: Pasadena, Deer Park, La Porte, Galena Park, Channelview and Sheldon, as well as portions of Clear Creek, Pearland and Humble ISD’s.

The San Jacinto College Board of Trustees called for the bond election at its February 4, 2008, meeting. Funds generated from the bond will help construct hands-on instructional science, allied health, and other technical education facilities at each of its three campuses. Libraries and physical education facilities will also be updated, as well as changes in the student support services area to create a single location for students to access services that support student learning. In addition, San Jacinto College will work with local business and industry to consider a Business Industry Training Center to assist with their training needs.

“We appreciate the support of our community,” said Marie Flickinger, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. “I am so pleased to see the large number of people who turned out to vote. In early voting alone we had more than the total number of voters in the last bond election, and overall we had almost three times the number of people vote in this election. This shows us that the voters are supportive of what we are doing for our students and our community.”

The last bond election for San Jacinto College was in 1999, when 1,758 citizens voted on a $91.4 million bond.

Impact on taxpayers within the District is expected to be minimal, and San Jacinto College will continue to take appropriate action to minimize or eliminate property tax increases for over 65 seniors and disabled citizens.

For more information about the projects covered under the bond measure, please visit www.sanjac.edu/bond.