An architect’s rendering of the DABCC East Mesa Center.

New Mexico State University and its branch campuses will receive more than $16 million for building projects if voters approve Bond Issue B on the state’s general election ballot in November.

At the main campus, $9 million of the general obligation bond revenues would go toward upgrading laboratories, classrooms and other facilities for biological sciences. The Dona Ana Branch Community College would get more than $4 million for its new East Mesa and Sunland Park centers. All four New Mexico State branches would receive funds for infrastructure renovation and expansion.

Biology department head Laura Huenneke sums up the need this way: “Biology is the science of the new millennium and we’re doing it in a 1930s building.” She notes that faculty members bring in $4 to $5 million a year in research grants and are leaders in programs funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation to build resources and expertise in biomedical research, environmental biology and other areas.

Students and faculty alike are hampered by overcrowded and outdated facilities in Foster Hall, which was built in 1930 and expanded in 1969, she said. Shortcomings include laboratories that lack fume hoods and other safety equipment, lecture areas with columns that block views and reduce the number of students who can be accommodated, inadequate ventilation and lack of fire sprinkler systems.

"It's not that we're doing anything unsafe, but we could be doing so much more with adequate facilities," Huenneke said.

Marvin Bernstein, who begins his 30th year on the biology faculty this fall, said the department's needs have grown with its successes.

"We have been so fortunate in the last dozen years in attracting some of the finest teachers and researchers in their disciplines to the department," he said. "With their success, we need to upgrade our facilities for modern research. We're not able to take full advantage of our faculty expertise and abilities. Every one of us has had to compromise in some way."

In addition to the $9 million to address the biology department's needs, Bond Issue B includes almost $5 million for the Dona Ana Branch Community College—$3 million for Phase II of the college's new East Mesa Center, $1.25 million for Phase II of the Sunland Park Center, and $700,000 for infrastructure renovation and expansion.

The East Mesa Center, now under construction near Roadrunner Parkway and U.S. 70 on Las Cruces' northeast side, will serve a major population growth area and eventually may become DABCC's main campus. Phase I, expected to be ready for a full schedule of classes in the fall of 2003, will accommodate about 600 students and Phase II will make room for another 400, said Campus Finance Officer Andy Burke.

The Sunland Park Center opened in 1997 in response to the rapid growth of Sunland Park and the economic development at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry. About 200 students are enrolled in credit programs at the center and several hundred in Adult Basic Education programs, Burke said. Phase II will add about 8,000 square feet to the current 12,000-square-foot facility.

Community College Week magazine last December identified DABCC as one of the fastestgrowing community colleges in the nation. According to Burke, enrollment is expected to continue to grow at about 4 percent a year.

Bond Issue B Highlights

General obligation bonds are a traditional method of financing educational facilities in New Mexico. Here are highlights of Bond Issue B, the education bond issue on the general election ballot Nov. 5.

STATEWIDE IMPACT: $93.18 million
• $49 million for renovating colleges and universities
• $34.9 million for specific higher education projects
• $2.3 million for information technology updates
• $2 million for improving access for people with disabilities
• $5 million for kindergarten classrooms

NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY IMPACT: $16.38 million
• $9 million for upgrading biology facilities at the main campus
• $3 million for Phase II of Dona Ana Branch East Mesa Center
• $1.25 million for Dona Ana Branch Sunland Park Center
• $700,000 for DABCC infrastructure
• $727,000 for NMSU-Alamogordo infrastructure
• $1.2 million for NMSU-Carlsbad infrastructure
• $500,000 for NMSU-Grants infrastructure

COST OF THE BOND ISSUE

General obligation bond issues are repaid with property tax revenues. If Bond Issue B is approved, the state Department of Finance and Administration estimates the cost would average $11.35 per year over a 10-year period for the owner of a $100,000 house.