Vote NO on Measure G

Already Deeply in Debt

The Contra Costa Community College District has already passed three bond measures. Taxpayers are still paying on all three.

Over the past two decades, 4CD has issued bonds totaling $856.5 million in principal alone — and Contra Costa County property owners still owe nearly $727 million including interest, with the final payment on the 2014 Measure E bond not due until 2039.

What Does It Cost Each Taxpayer?

4CD advertises Measure G as adding only $10 per $100,000 of assessed property value. But that framing relies on a 33-year repayment window to make a massive bill appear small. And it doesn't tell the whole story:

• Until Measure E's 2039 payoff, 4CD bond taxes already average $13.97 per $100,000.
• Measure G would add $10 on top of that — through 2059 and beyond.
• The $10 estimate assumes county assessed values grow 4% annually. If growth falls short, the rate could be higher. 4CD is legally required to disclose that its estimate "is based upon 4CD's projections and estimates only, which are not binding upon 4CD."
• Measure G has no senior exemption.

The "50,000 Students" Myth

4CD claims "nearly 50,000 students" attend its three colleges. That figure is deliberately misleading — it counts anyone who registers for even a single course.

California's actual funding metric — and the honest measure of institutional size — is Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES). One FTES equals 525 instructional hours (15 hours × 35 weeks). By this standard, 4CD enrollment has collapsed.

Source: State Chancellor's Full-Time Equivalent Student (FTES) Report, October 30, 2025. View report (p. 9)

4CD's own Facilities Plans show extensive new construction planned at all three colleges. As in struggling K-12 systems: building lavish new facilities while enrollment falls does not serve students — it serves construction contractors and the unions that back Project Stabilization Agreements.

Official Arguments Against Measure G

The following arguments were submitted for the official ballot pamphlet by the No on Measure G committee.

Primary Argument Against Measure G

Measure G: far too much, far too soon.

The Contra Costa Community College District (4CD) passed three bonds prior to Measure G: Measure A (2002, $120 million); another Measure A (2006, $286.5 million); and Measure E (2014, $450 million). Those three measures totaled $856.5 million in principal alone.

Bonds are loans, paid back with interest. We're still paying on all three prior bonds. That remaining payback obligation, including interest, is still nearly $727 million, with Measure E's final payment scheduled for 2039.

Now comes Measure G, adding $920 million more — greater than the sum total of all three previous bonds. With interest, Measure G's total repayment reaches $1.88 billion, by 2059. Adding earlier measures, total bonded indebtedness would reach $2.61 billion, with Contra Costa County's assessed property values as collateral.

Until Measure E's 2039 payoff, 4CD bond taxes already average $13.97 per $100,000 of assessed value. Measure G would add $10 to that — and continue on its own long past 2039. 4CD's tax rate estimates are based on 4% annual property value growth and are, by the district's own required disclosure, "not binding upon 4CD."

Under Measure G, Contra Costa County residents — with no senior exemption — would owe an additional $1,623 per capita to bond underwriters and banks.

4CD should rely less on successive large bond measures and more on its existing budget to maintain its existing buildings.

Rebuttal Argument Against Measure G

4CD is already deeply in debt. Three previous bond measures totaled $856.5 million in principal. Including interest, county taxpayers still owe nearly $727 million, with final payoff in 2039.

4CD's claim of "nearly 50,000 students" is highly misleading — it includes single-course enrollees. California's funding metric is Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES). When 2002's bond passed, FTES was 30,648. By 2014, it was 28,367. In 2024–25, it was only 21,940.

Adding expensive new facilities while enrollment trends sharply downward is ill-advised. Yet Measure G intends $920 million in new principal — plus $963 million in interest — with final payoff in 2059.

How many bond measures will it take to complete the same fundamental "deferred maintenance" projects — roofing repairs, seismic retrofits, electrical, HVAC — that appear over and over in 4CD's bond summaries?

4CD's "Project Stabilization Agreements" — exclusive union construction contracts granted in exchange for no-strike promises — increase costs. Bond measures like Measure G have no senior exemption.

With shrinking enrollments: instead of building plush new facilities with new borrowed millions, 4CD should maintain existing buildings in better condition, with existing money.

Who We Are

This effort is a project of the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association (CoCoTax) and community members who believe the district should practice fiscal responsibility before asking taxpayers for nearly a billion dollars in new debt.