General Obligation Bond Compliance

San José · Evergreen’s Measure G-2004, Measure G-2010, and Measure X Proposition 39 Bond Programs mandate the District to adhere to specific requirements.  The Bond Programs must

  • conduct third party annual fiscal and performance audits,
  • adhere to permissible use requirements,
  • have an oversight committee made up of community members,
  • and the oversight committee must publish an annual report to the public.

For Proposition 39 Bond Programs to maintain compliance with these requirements, the programs must follow State and IRS regulations, as well as “Proposition 39”, which is now embodied in the Education Code.

Below is a brief description of how San José · Evergreen Community College District has maintained compliance with the above stated requirements of its Proposition 39 Bond Programs.

Specific Project Lists

Prior to each of the bond measures being placed on a ballot, San José · Evergreen’s Board of Trustees passed a Resolution that included the full text ballot language.  This full text ballot language contained a description of the types of projects that were authorized to be funded with each respective measure. The content of the full text ballot language reflected the types of projects in the then current Educational and Facilities Master Plans for each of the two colleges.  For example, the Measure G-2010 ballot language states under the section titled, Job Training; Health and Technology Projects, “Construct vocational technology building.”  Evergreen Valley College’s Autotech project and San José City College’s Theater & Vocational Technology project both represent that category of bond work.

To remain in compliance with State regulations, the projects completed within the Measure Measure X, G-2010 and Measure G-2004 Bond Programs must be authorized by their respective Board of Trustee approved ballot language.  It should, however, be noted that the ballot language gives the Board of Trustees flexibility to adjust the building program as the educational program needs evolve over the life of the bond program, further analysis and information comes forward, budgets are developed and priorities are adjusted to meet the evolving college and code environments.  An example of this flexibility can be seen in the Measure G-2010 ballot language which states, “Based on the final costs of each project, certain of the projects described above may be delayed or may not be completed.”

Following the passage of Measure G-2010, the District adopted a process to monitor compliance and ensure transparency with respect to the project list as contained in the ballot language.  The process included the establishment/creation, and approval by the Board of Trustees, of a Master Bond Project List (Specific Project List) that more clearly defined project name, basic scope and budget for all of the individual projects on each of the Bond Programs.  The list for the Measure G-2010 program was reviewed for compliance with the ballot language by the Bond Executive Team prior to being placed on the Board Agenda for approval. (Note: The Bond Executive Team is made up of the College Presidents, the College Vice Presidents of Administrative Services, the Vice Chancellor of Administrative Services, the Director of Fiscal Services, as well as the program management team leaders.)

Once the more specific Master Bond Project List was approved by the Board of Trustees, all changes to the list have been brought back to the Board of Trustees for review and approval.  The Board Agenda Items representing these changes are referred to as “Bond List Revisions”.  All Board approved changes in project name, basic scope and budget have been tracked through this process.  At the Board of Trustees’ meeting on April 9, 2013, a summary report, recapping all changes from program inception to date, for the Measure G-2010 program was presented as an information item, and a three year summary report was presented for Measure G-2004.

Through this process of record keeping, review and Board approval, both programs have remained in compliance with applicable State regulations.  That is to say, the projects completed with the bond dollars are approved by the Board of Trustees and are traceable back to the project categories defined in the ballot language.

In addition to the State regulations, the District’s Bond Programs must also adhere to IRS regulations.  The process of developing and maintaining records associated with the Master Bond Project List, and the subsequent Bond List Revisions, is a key component to maintaining compliance with IRS Regulations relative to the Specific Project Lists.

Annual Fiscal and Performance Audits

The Bond Programs have annual, third-party fiscal and performance audits.  These audits have been presented to the Board of Trustees.  The programs have been and remain compliant with this requirement.

Adherence to Permissible Use Requirements

As part of the Bond List Revision process described in the section above: Specific Project Lists, the Bond program implementation and program management teams regularly review project scope for permissible use requirements.  Questions regarding permissible use requirements are brought to Bond Counsel for clarification when necessary by the Vice Chancellor of Administration.

Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) & Annual Reports

The Measure X, G-2010, and G-2004 programs have remained compliant regarding this requirement.  The Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee is Board appointed, meets quarterly, maintains this web-site for communication with the public and produces and distributes its Annual Report in a timely manner.

The CBOC reviews all Board of Trustee approved Bond List Revisions at its meetings along with financial information regarding expended bond funds.  The CBOC receives project update information for the purpose of providing context to bond fund expenditures and tours the projects at least once per year per location.

In conclusion, the San José · Evergreen Community College District is in compliance with the basic requirements of Proposition 39 as found in the California Education Code.