Santa Rosa Junior College Measure AB Explained: An $830 Million Bond at Up to $25 per $100,000, Repaid Through 2059

Voters in the Sonoma County Junior College District, which runs Santa Rosa Junior College, will decide Measure AB on Nov. 3, 2026: an $830 million general obligation bond for college buildings, labs and equipment. It needs 55% yes votes to pass. The district covers most of Sonoma County plus rural parts of northern Marin and southern Mendocino counties, so the measure is on ballots in all three. The Press Democrat calls it the largest school-related bond request in Sonoma County history.

What a yes or no vote does

A yes vote lets the district sell up to $830 million in bonds and levy a property tax to repay them. A no vote blocks both. The ballot question says the money would improve facilities to train students for careers in nursing, firefighting and other first-responder work, building trades, agriculture and auto mechanics, repair leaky roofs, and build or buy classrooms, sites and equipment. By state law, the money can't pay teacher or administrator salaries. Annual independent audits and a Citizens' Oversight Committee would follow if it passes.

The tax rate and total cost

The ballot question lists a levy of $25 per $100,000 of assessed value, about $55.3 million a year. The district's official tax rate statement estimates an average rate of $22 per $100,000 over the life of the bonds and a peak of $25, first reached in fiscal year 2041-42, with the tax collected until 2058-59. Total principal and interest is estimated at about $1.76 billion. The county counsels' impartial analysis notes these are projections, not caps, and could go up or down with the timing of bond sales and property values.

The ballot question opens with "Without increasing tax rates." Property owners now pay about $29.50 per $100,000 for SRJC's two earlier bonds: $11 for 2002's $252 million Measure A and $18.50 for 2014's $410 million Measure H, the district told the Press Democrat. Measure AB payments are timed to start around the end of the decade, as Measure A payments end, so the combined rate would stay under $30. With a median residential assessed value of about $462,000, the typical homeowner pays about $136 a year to SRJC now, according to the county tax collector's office. The district plans to sell the bonds in about $207.5 million batches every three years from 2027 to 2036.

Who's for it

The ballot argument in favor is signed by historian and SRJC graduate Gaye LeBaron, registered nurse Judy Coffey, firefighter David Peña, rancher Cheryl E. La Franchi and trustee Herman G. Hernandez. Their rebuttal lists endorsements from Reps. Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman, state Sen. Mike McGuire, Assemblymembers Damon Connolly and Chris Rogers, and the Sonoma County Democratic Party. Board President Ezrah Chaaban told the Press Democrat that without bond money, facility needs would have to come out of the general fund, which would mean cuts with a "direct student impact." The district says it would build a specific project list after the vote, drawing on a $1.75 billion list of needs.

Who's against it

The argument against, by Sonoma County resident Andrew J. Smith, says the district hasn't shown how it reached $830 million and that the rate is only a projection. David Kline of the California Taxpayers Association told the Press Democrat that the "without increasing tax rates" wording is misleading. Longtime SRJC observer Michael Von der Porten called the measure "very badly constructed," saying the delayed and stretched-out repayment means about 53 cents of every taxpayer dollar would go to interest.

See also Sonoma County's Measure H, Santa Rosa's Measure L and our Nov. 2026 Bay Area election guide.