Gavilan College seeking $248m for campus improvements
Voters in San Benito County are soon going to decide whether they want to see a new Gavilan College campus in Hollister.
The institution is asking voters to approve $248 million in bonds in November, which would go toward improving infrastructure across all campuses, including building a new site in Hollister.
The Briggs Building on 4th Street in Hollister is currently serving as Gavilan College’s satellite campus for San Benito County residents.
There are only a few classrooms inside, and the space is rented out by the city. There is no room to expand, but that could all change soon.
“At the new location, we’ll be able to develop over time, a full campus. And in Phase 1, (we would) be able to add the first instructional buildings to add more classes here in Hollister,” said Jan Bernstein-Chargin, the director of public information for Gavilan College.
The new site would be located near the intersection of Fairview Road and Airline Highway.
About $50 million of the bonds, called Measure X in the ballot, will go toward the Hollister campus project.
Gavilan has about 13,000 students right now. They’ve added new programs in the last year, including in drone technology and heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
“That means getting facilities to do it. We know that all of our science classes fill quickly every semester,” said Bernstein-Chargin.
The measure means more taxes for property owners, but the college says they are simply trying to meet demand.
The need to expand comes from the growth the area is seeing. Hollister alone is close to approaching 40,000 people. That means more future students.
“We want to be able to meet the higher education needs of high schoolers who want to get career education or get the general education courses they need to transfer to a university and to be able to do it close to home,” said Bernstein-Chargin.
Fall classes at Gavilan College start August 27.
If voters approve the bond measure this November, the college estimates classes could begin at the new Hollister campus in about two years or so once everything is built.
