Voters across San Mateo County will decide on Measure V on Nov. 3, 2026, an $848 million bond for the San Mateo County Community College District, which runs College of San Mateo, Cañada College in Redwood City and Skyline College in San Bruno. It needs 55% yes votes to pass.

Why it matters: The district's current construction money, from Measure H, is nearly spent, a district official told Skyline's student newspaper. Measure V would fund the next round of repairs and new buildings on campuses where some facilities are more than 60 years old.

What a yes vote does

A yes vote lets the district issue up to $848 million in general obligation bonds. The district's best estimate of the highest yearly tax rate is about $18 per $100,000 of assessed value, or about $75 million a year, according to the League of Women Voters' summary. The bonds are expected to be paid off by June 2049, and the total repaid with interest is estimated at about $1.35 billion.

The ballot question says the measure would not raise current tax rates. The Skyline View reported that it extends an existing rate rather than adding a new one, so a yes vote would postpone a drop in property taxes that would otherwise come as older bonds are paid off. The paper estimated about $390 a year on the county's median house.

A no vote means the district cannot issue the bonds.

What the money would build

According to the League of Women Voters summary of the project list, the bonds would pay for:

  • Districtwide: infrastructure upgrades, computer labs and traffic management
  • Cañada College: modernized fine arts facilities
  • College of San Mateo: a modernized maintenance center, library and gym
  • Skyline College: a modernized library, a new athletics center and a rebuilt or modernized visual and performing arts building

At Skyline, the Skyline View reported, the plan also includes student housing if the state provides matching funds. The biggest single item there is Building 1, the 1969 fine arts building, where staff showed reporters water pooling by the campus boiler, a roof that ponds on dry days and floods beneath the theater stage. A district presentation found 188 accessibility barriers in that building alone. Replacing it would cost about $140 million. A 2017 plan to rebuild it was cancelled when construction costs rose.

The measure requires an independent citizens' oversight committee, a separate account for bond money and yearly performance and financial audits.

Who's for and against

The district's Board of Trustees placed Measure V on the ballot. Private polling for the district found 64% support in 2025 and 65% in June 2026, the Skyline View reported.

The Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association opposes it, along with 15 other tax measures on San Mateo County ballots. Board member Chris Robell told the paper the three campuses' facilities "are among the finest facilities I've ever seen," and said the group would back a bond for seismic hazards or leaky roofs.

Some county voters also see local school measures, including San Mateo-Foster City Measure W and Jefferson Union Measure M. See every measure in our 2026 Bay Area election guide.