Plans for a new bond measure, increasing local taxes to pay for campus construction and demolitions, are being posed to El Camino College’s board of trustees for approval in an election as soon as 2026.

We understand that the college intends to provide students with improved facilities, but demolishing notable buildings that do not have any major issues and replacing them with inferior construction harms the communities this district serves.

Instead of demolishing our history with architecturally-indistinct replacements, the college should invest in projects that will benefit students, faculty and the local communities — not developers.

Buildings on the demolition chopping block under the bond proposals include the Music Building, Campus Theatre, the Schauerman Library, the Bookstore and Marsee Auditorium, depending on whether the trustees approve a $300 million, a $480 million, or a $710 million bond.

Many of the original buildings on campus were built without bonded indebtedness using a special, local tax where funds went directly to the district, according to a 1963 Warrior Life article.

Local communities will be indebted over a billion dollars if a new bond passes, as under the college’s previous Measure E bonds passed in 2002 and 2012, local communities are still paying off a total of $745 million until, at least, 2052.

Community members pay for these bond measures up to $25 per year per $100,000 of their assessed property value, according to California Education Code section 15270.

Significantly, the hundreds of millions collected under these bonds are restricted to facilities’ usage only and cannot fund educational programs, student services or faculty and staff pay.

New construction is also very costly. By law, trustees must select the lowest responsible bidder to complete projects — which today results in cheaper, prefabricated solutions such as the Lot L-adjacent Modular Village project, which has an impermanent, trailer-park appearance.

That project has cost $15 million so far out of an authorized $28 million, and will house an odd mix of programs, including the college’s dance program, the Basic Needs Center — currently in the Bookstore building — and a student wellness center.

Despite all this funding for facilities, and even before any of the bonds have been repaid, recently constructed buildings on campus already have serious problems.

The Humanities Building, built in 2008 for at least $30.9 million — $46 million in 2025 dollars, has been an eyesore covered in plastic because of its defective, leaky facade.

The building frequently undergoes repairs, disrupting classroom availability and instruction. Repairing just the facade is expected to cost either $5 million or $10 million, according to the Citizen Bond Oversight Committee’s meeting minutes.

Even the new Arts Complex, a gray concrete building which cost over $43 million and opened in fall 2023, has innumerable problems.

Adrian Amjadi, Fine Arts technical specialist, said the complex has many issues counter to health, safety and disability access which either didn’t exist in the old Art and Behavioral Sciences building or are worse.

“I feel like we were given a really pretty car with no wheels and no engine, and yes, we’re getting really good at pushing this car, but it’s tiring, it takes up too much of our time,” he said.

After the opening of the new Arts Complex, the college’s bronze casting program — and its storied bronze pours, special to the South Bay area — has been inoperative due to the facility missing vital components.

Although $1 million was earmarked to address possible building defects in the Arts Complex, it has not been distributed and would be insufficient to correct all the issues.

“It’s not aging well,“ Amjadi said.

David Kline, vice president of communications and research at the nonpartisan California Taxpayers Association, said effective bond measures should deliver long-term results.

“You want to make sure that in 30 years, when the people are making their last payments, that whatever they’re paying for is still there,” Kline said.

The Los Angeles Community College District constructed faulty buildings with bond funds, which the LA Times investigated in 2011 — finding financial waste, mismanagement and nepotism and resulting in an executive facilities director being discharged.

The old Art Building, which the college has planned to destroy, is still functional and architecturally notable with distinctive, mid-century style. Demolishing well-built facilities on campus removes the ability for future students to experience the college’s history.

Another building to be demolished, the Child Development Center, was closed in 2010 and allowed to go to waste after a lack of maintenance. The center used to offer free childcare for student parents but now is set to be torn down for a parking lot.

Demolishing and then constructing with new materials causes an incomprehensible amount of waste as demolished buildings end up in landfills. While the college created a sustainability plan in 2019, it hasn’t acted upon it.

Construction efforts on campus aren’t also just a costly, lengthy inconvenience — they attract crime. As of this semester, The Union has reported several burglary and vandalism incidents occurring near the Modular Village’s site.

Although the administration states new construction efforts will not lead to expansion, they do not guarantee spaces will not be removed or limited.

When the Student Activities Center was closed in 2019 and demolished, it was never replaced and the Associated Students Organization recently formed a Student Commons Committee with the sole purpose to reestablish the lost space for students.

“We’ve had members of ASO go to do research at these places [two-year colleges], and we are one of the bigger schools in the area that does not have one,” Charlie Mitchell, 21, political science major and student trustee-elect, said.

Building renovations at ECC have occurred in the past at similar or cheaper costs than demolishing and rebuilding.

Some renovations include the Bookstore — $9.1 million in 2010, the Social Sciences building — $5.6 million in 2011, the Industry Technology Education Center — $38.5 million in 2015, and the Bookstore again — $2.3 million in 2022, according to ECC.

Prioritizing wrecking the campus, at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, is a strange concern for the district instead of doing what’s best for students, faculty, staff and the planet.

Renovation and timely building maintenance preserves the college’s unique history and ensures a durable, bright future for the campus and its community.

Editor’s note:

• The plastic covering on the Humanities Building was removed as of this posting date.