New Mexico voters will be asked in November to approve a bond issue for a proposed renovation of O'Donnell Hall.

Included are $9.5 million to fund a renovation and addition to O’Donnell Hall, which houses the College of Education, and $3.5 million for Phase III of the Dona Ana Branch Community College’s East Mesa Center.
Statewide, Bond Issue B includes more than $98 million for projects ranging from vocational education facility expansion to equipment for public television, information technology updates and improved access for people with disabilities.

“If we are to aggressively address state needs for more and better-trained teachers, then the College of Education must grow. To grow, we need additional space,” says Robert Moulton, dean of the College of Education.

O’Donnell Hall was constructed without windows in the mid-1960s. It does not meet the College of Education’s space needs, it doesn’t support modern technology and teaching methods, and it has significant structural problems, Moulton says.

“The east wing of the building began settling shortly after construction and was halted only after significant sinking had occurred,” Moulton says. “The design also failed to provide for natural light and does not contain sufficient instructional, office, administrative or lab space.”

One of the most noticeable changes on the NMSU campus is the new College of Health and Social Services building, which opened this spring. The building incorporates the Aggie Memorial Tower, which used to be part of the original football stadium on campus. The tower will be rededicated during Homecoming this year on Saturday, Oct. 30. It's first floor is again a memorial to Aggie war veterans.

“The new space will accommodate classrooms and administrative space, which is justified by the growth of the college and the increased significance of its mission to the people of New Mexico and the border region,” Moulton says.
The College of Education now serves 1,600 undergraduates and 1,000 graduate students and is one of the fastest-growing colleges at NMSU.
“A consulting team of architects and engineers external to NMSU recently concluded that the college has less than half of the square footage it needs,” Moulton says.

The Dona Ana Branch Community College, recognized as one of the nation’s fastest-growing community colleges in recent years, would receive bond funds to help meet its needs in one of its population growth areas. The East Mesa Center opened in September 2003 and continues to see a growth in its enrollment.

General obligation bonds are a traditional method of financing educational facilities in New Mexico. The bond issues are repaid with property tax revenues. If Bond Issue B is approved, the state Department of Finance and Administration estimates the additional cost for the owner of a $150,000 house with a taxable value of $50,000 would average about $15.26 per year over a 10-year period.