One of the oldest community colleges in California, MJC has two main campuses in the city of Modesto and serves more than 18,000 day and evening students each semester.
Located near the city of Sonora in the wooded Sierra Nevada foothills, Columbia College is a primary resource of adult learning for residents throughout the Mother Lode region.
The colleges of YCCD, Modesto Junior College (MJC) and Columbia College (CC) help ensure our communities have a well-trained local workforce by providing affordable, in-demand career education. With their degrees and certificates from YCCD students can become essential workers that fuel our local economy, working in top earning industries such as healthcare, fire, forestry, first responders, agriculture and advanced manufacturing.
As the cornerstone of affordable, accessible, and flexible education, and training, Yosemite Community College District (YCCD) must modernize the facilities of it’s colleges to meet the needs of students entering the modern workforce.
YCCD and it’s colleges, help ensure that students who can’t afford to attend the University of California or State University have the opportunity to succeed in college and provide affordable training for the community’s essential workforce.
Some of the classrooms, training facilities and service buildings at MJC and CC were built over 60 years ago and have never been updated. Funding is needed to allow YCCD to help maintain, repair, and modernize classrooms, labs, career training equipment, technology, and facilities.
The YCCD Board of Trustees is considering placing a school bond measure on the 2026 ballot to raise $735 million to repair and upgrade our local colleges. If approved by voters, the measure would cost approximately $25 per $100,000 of assessed (not market) value.
Funding from the measure would be used to help address the most urgent improvements needed at Modesto Junior College and Columbia College, including:
By law, a school facilities improvement measure would require strict accountability protections, including:
Funding from the measure would be used to help address the most urgent improvements needed at Modesto Junior College and Columbia College, including:
By law, a school facilities improvement measure would require strict accountability protections, including:
Yosemite Community College District hasn’t passed a bond in over 20 years. In 2004, local voters approved Measure E bond funding for repairs, upgrades, and new construction of Modesto Junior College and Columbia College facilities. A Citizens’ Oversight Committee has overseen the responsible use of Measure E funds for the past two decades. Additional funding is now needed to make repairs, maintain, and upgrade classrooms, labs, and career training facilities to meet the current and future needs of our students and local economy.
While no final decision has been made, the measure being considered is estimated to provide $735 million for repairs and updates to our campuses and is estimated to cost $25 per $100,000 of assessed value (not market value) per year.
The cost of bond measures is based on the assessed value of properties. The assessed value of a property is based on the original purchase price and may not increase by more than 2% a year, while the market value tends to grow at a much faster rate based on market conditions. Thus, the assessed value is usually much lower than the market value, especially if a property was purchased long ago at a much lower price than it could be purchased for today. It is this lower assessed value upon which the cost of a bond measure is based.
Yes. All funds would be locally controlled and would benefit Modesto Junior College and Columbia College. No funding could be taken away by the State or used for other purposes.
While no final decision has been made, the Yosemite Community College District Board of Trustees is currently considering placing a potential measure on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
A potential bond measure would need to be supported by 55% of those who vote on it to pass.
As we plan for the future of our community colleges, we want to hear your thoughts. Please reach out to Jeanette Fontana at fontanaj@yosemite.edu with questions.
