Chemeketa seeks $140M bond measure

Chemeketa Community College, which serves Yamhill County in addition to Marion and Polk counties, is seeking a $140 million bond measure to improve its career technical education center, health and wellness programs and safety and security through its system.

The measure, which voters will decide in the Nov. 5 election, also would pay for new academic offerings and improved facilities, including a new science lab at the Woodburn campus. Ballots go out on Oct. 17.

Chemeketa is based in Salem. It runs the Yamhill Valley Campus in McMinnville as well as programs in Woodburn and Dallas.

Yamhill County students can take some or sometimes all their courses at the McMinnville site, which includes a nursing and health care training center. Some local students commute to Salem for part of their coursework.

Many students from Yamhill County high schools start college at Chemeketa, which offers one or two years of free tuition to “Chemeketa scholars” who earn top grades in high school.

The new bond would replace another bond that is retiring in 2026.

The new bond would cost taxpayers the same amount as the old one, 27 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation. The owner of a $300,000 house would continue to pay $81 per year if the new bond passes.

In addition to the science center, the new bond would pay for a trades center at the main campus in Salem; reconfiguration of classrooms at the Brooks health and emergency services center in Brooks; improvements to classrooms, central buildings and athletic fields in Salem; and district-wide security measures such as video cameras, better lighting and improved parking.

For more information, www.chemeketa.edu.