Measure K passed by 58.5 percent, only 3.5 percent above the required threshold.

As Delta College celebrates the historic $598 million bond victory, questions remain about how those funds will be used.

From August to November Collegian staffers developed many new skills reporting Measure K: dissecting documents and policies including lawsuits, school bonds, ballot policies, budgets, Grand Jury reports and more. 

Collegian staff now has insight into how the sausage is made. That’s not a good thing.

Reporting on Measure K was a headache turned curse. When asking the questions about Measure K, no one had a direct answers. Every week, we received Measure K campaign ads that provided information about the bond but never seemed to clarify projects. Campaign materials said Delta would work to ensure career education as essential in San Joaquin County, particularly among first responders. As we reported on the promises broken with Measure L, specifically the buildings that never materialized, we realized the lack of information was directly tied to not wanting to make promises that couldn’t be kept.

That’s a bad premise for a bond measure. Questions remain. 

Above all: what’s Measure K’s purpose? Documents, public statements and interviews didn’t provide a clear picture.

One such issue is raised by Delta’s proposed 2024 Facilities Master Plan, presented at the Nov. 4 Facilities Committee meeting. 

As a public document available on the college’s BoardDocs site, the first draft brought serious questions about the college’s future planning.  

Some photos included in the document weren’t even from the Delta College campus. One, of a mural at the Dreamers Success Center, appears to be taken from a thumbnail of an ABC10 YouTube video. More shockingly, two photos appear to be taken from the website of a Delta College located in Michigan, showcasing a building that does not exist at our Delta College, with nursing uniforms showing an unfamiliar logo.

“It was an oversight by the architect and myself before we released the draft to the committee,” Director of Facilities Planning, Stacy Pinola said. “The pictures have been replaced by SJDC stock pictures.” 

The first draft has since been updated, replacing the Michigan photos with placeholders. A public-facing document with mistakes reflects on the $598 million bond. As students we’re told to check our work before submission. Does the standard not apply to Delta College?

The Facilities Committee approved the plan to move forward on Nov. 18 as a recommendation to the President’s Council before moving to the Board of Trustees. We hope those bodies do due review diligence. 

At the Nov. 12 board meeting, outgoing Trustee Jessie Garza-Roderick said she hoped projects planned previously would be fulfilled: “That’s what we’re really committed to doing, and so the Measure K money will help us do that.”

The Collegian hopes so, too. The slim margin by which the bond passed needs to be considered as an action point for Delta College to rebuild public trust. Mistakes can’t be made. Without an actual plan of action, though, the public may never know if there are mistakes. Maybe that was the plan.