Oregon Public Broadcasting

The state’s biggest educational institution is asking Portland-area voters for the largest bond in state history. No, not Portland Public Schools; the request comes from Portland Community College, as Rob Manning reports.

North Clackamas passed a bond worth more than $220 million, two years ago. Salem-Keizer is asking voters this fall for over $240 million.

But those pale next to the bond request for Portland Community College. Preston Pulliams is PCC’s president.

Preston Pulliams: “$374 million is the amount we’re asking for permission, in bonds, in the election. Most of that would be for facilities and upgrades.”

Two things to know about PCC: it’s huge, and it’s getting old. I’ll get to why size matters in a second.

Age can be a point of pride among educators. Instructor Russ Jones smiles at  the history behind the automotive repair shop at PCC Sylvania.

Russ Jones: “The building you’re standing in right now is the oldest building in the PCC infrastructure. It was the original building on this campus, and as a matter of fact, our teachers’ offices in the back corner, used to be the president’s office, of PCC.”

Now, the president has a window that looks toward west into Washington County. But the intervening years have not been as kind to auto shop.

Russ Jones: “There’s an alignment pit over here that’s boarded over. It’s boarded over for a safety standard. That really needs to be filled in so that it’s more like a shop floor. That’s 30 years old. It’s been outdated and boarded over for 15 years, so....”

That’s just one little example. You’ll want to multiply it, dozens of times.

PCC is huge, and getting bigger. PCC’s roughly 90,000 students are more than the University of Oregon, Oregon State, and Portland State combined.

Enrollment went up ten percent in the last year, thanks at least in part to an influx in part-time students, in search of job training.

President Pulliams says that task is also getting bigger.

Preston Pulliams: “The whole sustainability, or green movement, creating a lot of job opportunities, or career opportunities; for us to gear up for that, or invest in that, we need an infusion of dollars - more from the state, of course. But also bond campaigns provide capital dollars to invest in work stations and technology for those kinds of programs.”

PCC’s bond could add 70 classrooms, and modernize the college.

But Russ Jones says the bond won’t bring his shop all the way into the 21st century.

Russ Jones: “We’re also currently trying to fund community and/or industry funds to help us move into our next generation of classes, which are going to be hybrid and alternative fuel vehicle classes.”

If PCC’s age is hard to overcome, at least PCC’s size can be an advantage. No school district in Oregon could get so many millions of dollars with so little from individual property owners.

As President Pulliams explains, PCC’s bond takes advantage of its vast reach - across five Oregon counties.

Preston Pulliams: “It’s about 1500 square miles, so it’s about the size of the state of Rhode Island. Because there’s so many residents, that $374 million, is certainly a lot of money, but when you divide it in a large area, population that we have, it’s a minimum impact on taxpapers.”

The campaign is estimating the cost at less than $8 a month for an average taxpayer. But across PCC’s vast five-county area, it will vary a lot.

The average taxpayer in PCC’s part of Multnomah County, for instance, would pay less than $4.50 a month, on average.

But  PCC's bond measure is not the only one on the ballot - and in the current economic climate, voters may pick and choose.

PCC officials say if their big bond fails, their job-training mission won’t change - but the big, aging college could struggle to keep up with the times.