SFCC Bond Measure to Appear on April Ballot

State Fair Community College is taking a bond initiative to area voters to build a new technical education facility on the Sedalia campus.

Dr. Joanna Anderson, President of State Fair Community College, says the new bond measure will be used to equip that facility and to renovate some spaces in the career and technical department.

The actual obligation bond that will appear on the April 4th ballot, is asking voters to approve a $28-million general obligation. Voters would be deciding, whether or not, to approve an additional levy assessment of approximately 25 cents. Dr. Anderson says that would help SFCC construct the new facility.

Dr. Anderson says, "the plan for the new technical educational facility has come about, because SFCC has outgrown any space to expand programs that include automotive technology, construction management, engineering design, industrial maintenance, precision machining, and welding."

The goal is to educate and train more students to compete in the 21st century workforce. Dr. Anderson added that to educate more students through those programs, there needs to be more capacity, to provide for a skilled workforce for area businesses and manufacturers.

If the bond measure is approved in April, the groundbreaking for the new technical education facility could be as early as this fall. The new facility would be constructed on the southwest part of the campus, near the Potter-Ewing Agriculture Building.

The estimated size of the new facility would be 116,000 square-feet. The current blueprints include 25 new classrooms and 14 labs. Dr. Anderson says the new technical education facility could help increase the enrollment by approximately 275 students, by expanding current programs and adding new programs.

The bond would "sunset" after 20 years, meaning the payments would end.