With the February election around the corner, debate is beginning to stir over the Napa Valley College’s $178.4 million construction bond measure.

NVC President Chris McCarthy said he is confident that the college will receive the endorsement of several local organizations, such as the Napa and American Canyon chambers of commerce. But some groups are already beginning to circulate materials against the bond. One group in particular, the Napa Valley Taxpayers Alliance, is taking a formal position: “Vote No on Measure L.”

The bond measure, which will be on the February ballot, comes five years after voters approved a $133.8 million bond for the college. The bond fell $70 million short “in today’s dollars” toward completing approved projects, said McCarthy, due to inflation and an unprecedented rise in construction costs. Measure L, if passed, would provide $115 million for projects already approved by voters in 2002, and $63 million for new projects.

Michael Haley, president of the NVTA, calls the bond measure “ridiculous.”

“The biggest concern that I have with it is there are so many pressing needs right now for taxpayers,” he said, adding, “When you have taxpayers in Napa that can’t afford to fix the streets, and we’re paying for very expensive schooling … it just gets to be a little ridiculous.”

Napa Republican Party President Janet Kirtlink, who said she is not taking a formal position on the issue, agrees that “if they can’t fix our streets around here and make them look better, why should we vote for more taxes for anything until that happens?” The Napa Republican Party will vote in January on its official position on the issue.

McCarthy said the issue comes down to how important the quality of local higher education is to Napa residents.

“We’re not trying to pit the college against other community needs,” he said, “but the college is a vital resource for the community. ... I think a thriving community in part depends on a thriving college.”

NVC trustee and 2007 Board President Michael Baldini said that an investment in the college is an investment in the community as a whole. “This is our town, this is our valued community,” he said. “What we put into this community at all levels, the rewards will flow back into the community.”

But Haley doubts the college’s ability to manage funds responsibly, as demonstrated by its inability to complete approved projects with funds from the 2002 bond.

Said Leon Brauning, member of the NVTA and Napa Republican Party, “Cost overruns of $70 million seem unconscionable and a waste of taxpayer money. ... I think we need to have much more care taken of taxpayer dollars.”

McCarthy points out that the independent citizens oversight committee, which is required to oversee spending of bond funds, “has commended us for the way we’ve spent money.”

“What we don’t have control over,” he said, “is the cost of construction and inflation.” Unexpected inflation and rising construction costs in the wake of disasters like Hurricane Katrina, he said, “are what amount to the shortfall.”

And NVC is not alone in its struggle, said McCarthy. “Fourteen community colleges in the state have already gone out for a second bond because of this problem.”

It’s not just about completing approved projects, though, said Haley. The college is now asking for $63 million in new projects on top of the cost of completing what was already approved in 2002. “I don’t think it’s justified at all,” he said.

“They’re programs the community is asking for,” said McCarthy. With the fast pace of changing technology, “it’s a different world than it was five years ago. … The community is asking us to develop programs for current needs as well as future needs,” he said.

Brauning asked in a letter distributed to members of the NVTA and Napa Republican Party, “With four school bonds already on our taxes ... when do we say stop?”

“It’s an important question,” said McCarthy. What it comes down to, he said, is “What kind of college do you want? … Is it an investment you want to make?” McCarthy said, “We have to put this important decision in front of the community. If not, we’re not doing out jobs.”