Funded district still neglects campus maintenance
These are the times at American River College that students take notice of the minor things in need of fixing. At the beginning of this semester, it seemed that every door in Davies Hall was broken, and it was a guessing game as to how to get out of the building.
Students were left climbing up and down stairs in search of a working door, as if they were lab mice trying to get out of a maze. It took approximately a month before the doors were finally in working condition again.
Over the past 11 years the Los Rios Community College District has benefited from the passage of Measure A (March 2002) and Measure M (November 2008), two bonds totaling $740 million to modernize, expand and maintain the campuses affiliated with the Los Rios district.
Measure A is a $265 million bond that was implemented to help develop the campuses and also help give the buildings an up-to-date makeover. Measure M, a $475 million authorization, allocated funds to help enhance classrooms and campus facilities. The funds from those bonds have been split among American River, Cosumnes River, Folsom Lake, and Sacramento City colleges, and the Los Rios Community College District office.
As of the 2012-2013 Annual Report, ARC has received $110.6 million under the two measures and has only spent $85.1 million on projects such as transportation, access and parking (TAP), in the form of the parking garage; student center modernization and expansion; the culinary arts department; and the fine arts modernization, among many other projects scheduled at the school.
Considering that these resources have been set aside to help maintain the campus, why are there issues that seem to go weeks unnoticed? Why weren’t the issues with the door in Davies Hall addressed quickly? There are also issues that have lasted months without being fixed; the sign indicating the total number of parking spots available in the parking garage or the marquee by the library, which has been broken for over two years.
Something minor that could be fixed in the school is the hooks that are used to hang backpacks and bags in the bathroom stalls.
“Sometimes there isn’t even a hook to hang up your backpack,” said ARC student, John Knox. “I don’t want to be putting my backpack on the floor right where someone missed the toilet and hit the ground.”
It’s understandable that the campus is focused on expansion, but along with expansion, it is the administration’s duty to make sure that the buildings and structures are maintained and functioning properly.
