Editorial:
In the City of Chula Vista there are two long time dreams for the city that for one reason or another have failed to move beyond the vision statement. Those two dreams have been the development of the bay front and a four year university developed in East Chula Vista. Each is seen as the future for the city that would transform the city from a bedroom community into a vibrant metropolitan.
Each project has its own unique set of circumstances that have simultaneously held out hope and promise while presenting problems and frustrations. While the bay front project recently held out the most hope with the Gaylord project that appeared on the verge of becoming reality, it has slowly withered away within the maze of bureaucracy and finally abandoned for the time being with the economic downturn of the city and the country.
The four year university project, which has not had the same sense of urgency as the bay front, is moving forward. The university has been a part of the vision and the future for the city since 1997, with overwhelming community and city council support. What has been lacking, has been a champion in Sacramento who would guide this project along that is, until now. Newly elected Assembly Member Marty Block, of the 78th District which includes east Chula Vista has made a four year university one of his top priorities and he has this vision on the move.
The need for a California State University (CSU) in the South Bay is undeniable. There are two CSU campuses in San Diego, the San Marcos campus 45 miles north of Chula Vista, and San Diego State University which is an impacted college with 68.8% of the 50,000 first-time freshmen who applied for the fall 2008 semester turned away.
The process to bring a CSU campus to the South Bay is a long and laborious. Yet, one of the key elements has been completed, that being the allocation of land. The City of Chula Vista has set aside 400 acres of land in East Chula Vista for the construction of a campus.
The next step is a feasibility study for which Assembly Member Marty Block has crafted legislation, AB24: California State University: feasibility study: Chula Vista, and has seen it passed in both the Assembly and State Senate in September. The bill now sits on the Gover-nor’s desk for approval.
The bill in essence states that a feasibility study will be done to determine the need to establish a campus in the South Bay. That no state funds will be used for this study, the money will come from private donors and that if the trustees decide that a new campus or off-campus center is needed, the trustees would be required to submit a formal needs study to the California Postsecondary Education Commission.
AB 24 appears to be a win-win bill with this being the next step in the long process and at no cost to the taxpayer. But in politics there are no such things as win-win/sure thing. The Governor should approve the bill, but still has the option of vetoing the bill.
The Governor may decide that in this economic climate that to start the ball rolling on such a project could be detrimental to future State budgets. When it is determined that a CSU campus is needed the trustees will be required to submit a formal needs study to the California Postsecondary Education Commission. The cost of a formal study would be upwards of $600,000 coupled with the long term cost of establishing a new campus.
The Governor has until Oct 11 to make a decision on the bill. For the South Bay students and for the City of Chula Vista a CSU campus is needed for quality education, for jobs, and for the future of the city.
We urge the Governor to sign AB24 and we encourage our readers to email, call, or write the governor asking him to sign the bill for the best interest in the future of the students and the city.