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Cabrillo College Measure R on March 2020 Ballot

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Vote Yes on Measure R for Cabrillo College

The Board of Trustees of Cabrillo College has put together a new bond measure to appear on the March 3, 2020 primary ballot. Ballot Measure R will seek to raise $274.1 million dollars to improve facilities at both the Aptos and Watsonville campuses.

County residents may recall that there was a larger, $310 million bond measure for Cabrillo in 2016 (Measure Q). This effort failed to win the minimum necessary 55% “Yes” to pass – it fell about 1% short. This time around, the Trustees have put together a plan that has better support among students and faculty, and it is hoped that in 2020, the community will lend enough to support to get the measure passed.

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Specifically, this money will be spent on the following projects:

  • $84 Million: New Science Building
  • $72.9 Million: Library Renovation and Secondary Effects
  • $60.7 Million: Major Renovation of 200 Building to Co-Locate All Student Services
  • $23 Million: Watsonville Public Safety Center
  • $17 Million: IT and Facilities Allocation
  • $11 Million: Building 350 – Reconfigure Instructional Classrooms for Larger Lecture Halls
  • $3 Million: Building 500, 600, 1600 Modernization – CA State Match –
  • $2.5 Million: Critical Needs (emergency fixes)

Less specifically, the money will be used to:

  • Upgrade training classrooms to prepare students for 21st-century careers
  • Prepare more students to transfer to four-year colleges and universities
  • Improve educational resources for returning veterans
  • Update classroom technology and science, engineering and math labs
  • Expand access to college classrooms for people with disabilities
  • Upgrade aging classrooms and replace outdated wiring and sewer lines
  • Establish a public safety training center in Watsonville to train local firefighters and police to serve our community

If it passes, Measure R would impose a district-wide, 30-year property tax of $19 per $100,000 of assessed value. It is important to note that because of Proposition 13, assessed value is often much less than market value. Property owners that purchased years ago may have an assessed value of, say, $300,000 but a market value of $850,000 – in this case, those property owners would be looking at a $57/year increase in property taxes. If, however, you paid $1,000,000 for a home last year in the district, the assessed value will be roughly the same – meaning you’d be paying an additional $190/year in taxes in that case.

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The Board of Trustees is optimistic that the 2020 Measure R will be successful when 2016 Measure Q failed. The 2016 effort was not well planned, whereas boosters of the 2020 measure say the plan for how the money will be spent has been very carefully considered to closely align with the needs of the student body and the community.

Cabrillo College has put together a dedicated Yes on R web site, and has additional information on the bond measure on their main site.

In the most recent episode of the Bay to Bay Podcast, host Seb Frey discusses what’s going on at Cabrillo College, and spends about half the episode discussing the ins and outs, whys and wherefores of the 2020 Bond Measure R. You can listen to that below:

https://baytobaypodcast.com/2020/01/08/episode-49-cabrillo-college-in-2020

See also:

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Supervisory Academy at Cabrillo

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Being a successful supervisor can be a challenge: you have a lot of responsibility, and usually, very little supervisory training. The Cabrillo College Supervisory Academy is designed to deliver results in a 12-week program that helps participants develop skills and become a better supervisor. Participants may choose which modules are best for them, or attend all 12!

The Supervisory Academy develops competencies and skills that are critical to effective, clear and positive communication which build the trust that is the foundation to all successful organizations. This program will teach you how to turn those challenging and uncomfortable conversations into empowering interactions.  You will learn to become resourceful and solutions oriented so that you and your team make your greatest contribution and get extraordinary results. The Supervisory Academy is dedicated to anyone who is seeking excellence on their professional path!  You do not need to be a supervisor to receive value from this program, you simply need the desire to perform at your best.

In these weekly meetings, participants will…

  • Use essential skills that will make their jobs easier and teams more efficient
  • Self-assess and make effective choices about their leadership development
  • Build, sustain and repair trust with their teams
  • Set clear performance expectations
  • Improve communication with all levels of their organizations
  • Delegate, coach and develop teams
  • Motivate employees
  • Make better decisions and solve the right problems
  • And so much more!

“The size, industry, and profitability of an organization do not necessarily deem it successful. Successful organizations have people who feel valued and engaged in what they are creating through the organization.” – Jennifer Mount

Tuesday Morning Series:
October 1 – December 17, 2019
9:00 am – 12:00 Noon
Aptos Campus, room 1522

Click Here to Sign Up

Learn More on Cabrillo’s Web Site

Aptos in October

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The finest month of the year in Aptos is in October. The tourists are gone, and the fog is gone. It’s just glorious, warm sunny days and crisp evenings…getting crisper as we head towards the end of the month, of course. This year we had some very hot days at the beginning of the month, which was a nice change, as truly hot days are in short supply here in Aptos.

Here’s a picture I took with my iPhone the other day, as we took one of our evening walks on Seacliff Beach:

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Do you need any more proof that October is THE month in Aptos? #aptos #sunset #iphone #instagram

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Nice, huh?

Yesterday was a pretty awesome day…Cabrillo College hosted a Science Expo so we went to check that out. Despite the publicity on it being pretty poor (we only heard about it the day before, and it seems everyone we talked to also got late notice), it was very well attended. It seems Cabrillo is wanting to connect with kids at a younger age to start getting them interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) studies early. They put on a pretty fabulous exposition…it was only two hours long, seems like it should have been longer. I recorded some video:

We could only stay for about forty minutes, because we had to run off to the polo grounds for soccer. My son plays on the Red Sharks, a U-6 (under 6) team…and actually his team is definitely Under 6, as there are only five players on it (most teams have 8 or more players).

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Soccer super stars (and their mascot) #aptos #soccer

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After soccer, we went home and the boys took a bit of a nap, and then we headed on up to the Rodoni Farms Pumpkin Patch, which is something we do pretty much every year. I am pretty sure that with the cost of gas and everything we spend a lot more on pumpkins than if we just went to Trader Joe’s, but it’s a beautiful spot on the coast with room for the kids to run around, play on hay bales, and just let their freak flag fly.

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The annual trip to Rodoni Farms #october #pumpkins #halloween

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After we got our pumpkins, we headed down to Woodstock Pizza in downtown Santa Cruz, which I had actually never been to before. It was great! I give it two thumbs up, for sure. After dinner, we headed on over to Capitola for the Monte Foundation Fireworks. For years, the fireworks had been in Aptos, but this year they moved them to Capitola…grrrr. But it was a beautiful display:

It was a pretty busy day, but it’s kind of par for the course in Aptos in October. In a small town kind of way, of course.

Cabrillo College Annual Plant Sale, May 9-11

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Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and for the 38th year in a row, the Cabrillo College horticulture department is having it’s annual Mother’s Day Plant Sale. Each year, they sell a huge selection of plants, flowers, culinary and medicinal herbs, succulents, vines, vegetable starts – you name it, they got it! This year they have over 1,000 varieties to choose from.

All of the plants being sold were grown by Cabrillo students, with proceeds from the sale going to fund the Environmental Horticulture Facility for the upcoming school year.

The “presale” begins on Friday, May 9 from 3 to 7 PM, and you must donate $25 to get in on the presale. On Saturday May 10, hours are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

While you’re there, check out their state-of-the-art facilities including the greenhouse complex, shadehouses, lab classroom, horticulture learning center, and community room. Agriculture plays a significant part in the Aptos economy, and it’s interesting to see how the future of agriculture is being shaped in our community.

Cabrillo Nursery
Cabrillo Nursery

James Durbin Speaks in Aptos on March 29

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The Monterey Herald is reporting that Santa Cruz native James Durbin will be speaking – and possibly performing a song or two – at the Cabrillo College Visual and Performing Arts Complex this coming Saturday, March 29th at 7:30 PM. James Durbin garnered wide acclaim when he appeared on the 10th season of American Idol, coming in 4th Place. James is afflicted with Tourette’s Syndrome and Aspberger’s Syndrome, and appeared in a documentary Different is the New Normal, about a teen living with Tourette’s.

Durbin will be talking with Wallace Baine of the Santa Cruz Sentinel about his upbringing and his experience on American Idol, and his life as a professional musician since his time on the top-rated TV show.

Adult tickets are $15; kids and seniors are $12, and Cabrillo Students are $10 and can be ordered here.

Nobel Scientist to Talk at Cabrillo College

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Nobel laureate Randy Schekman will give a presentation, Your Future in Science, at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Cabrillo College Crocker Theater, 6500 Soquel Drive.

His appearance is sponsored by Cabrillo, Santa Cruz County College Commitment, Rotary Club of Watsonville and Pajaro Valley Unified School District.

Admission will be free, and seating is first come, first served, with overflow seating and live-streaming in Samper Music Recital Hall.

Randy Schekman
Randy Schekman