10:15 a.m.Voters are unlikely to see a new bond measure for Napa Valley College for at least another couple of years.

Though the college board of trustees did not reach a formal agreement, members expressed a general sentiment Wednesday night that 2008 is too soon after February’s defeat of Measure L to pursue another NVC bond.

The next available ballot opportunity would be in 2010.

The decision would leave the college with a $70 million shortfall toward completing projects approved under the $133.8 million bond passed in 2002.

NVC fell short toward completing 2002’s Measure N projects due to a dramatic rise in construction costs over previous years. In an attempt to acquire additional funding for both old and new projects, the college came back in February to request a second bond for $178 million. While a majority of voters approved the measure, the bond did not get the 55 percent approval needed to pass.

February’s defeat at the polls left the board wondering now whether to slash away at its original wish list or come back to voters yet again.

Trustee Michael Baldini earlier this year suggested that the college might pursue a new bond as early as November 2008. Board President Bruce Ketron said he would support the board’s decision to do so.

But Wednesday, the board expressed concern over moving so quickly after the defeat of Measure L.

Trustee JoAnn Busenbark said she does not consider it “prudent or wise to consider anything earlier than 2010.”

To do so would create “a mindset for the general public that’s ‘loser-loser,’” she said. Busenbark also noted that the county is exploring a transit tax and suggested that the two measures should not appear on the same ballot.

Trustee Thomas Andrews agreed, saying the school risks “another disaster” if it takes a bond measure to the polls in November.

“We shouldn’t be doing it this year,” he said, suggesting that the college “make plans based on what’s available right now with the possibility of doing something in 2010.”

NVC President Chris McCarthy and NVC Director of Campus Planning and Construction Dan TerAvest presented the board with three scenarios Wednesday for proceeding with current projects. The board can make due with funds available; or pursue either a bond or tax rate extension, both of which would require a vote with 55 percent approval.

A tax rate extension would provide $100 million by stretching the length of 2002’s yearly tax out from 2034 to 2052, explained McCarthy. The figures are based on a 2008 election.

It would not create a new tax, and yearly taxes would not go up, but the number of years the tax would remain in place would increase.

The current tax is $23.85 per $100,000 of assessed property value.

Busenbark said that while a bond or tax rate extension is “still a consideration, we need to keep the door open” to other possible sources of funding.

The board’s decision will affect planning for projects approved in 2002, said McCarthy. If the board chooses to pursue additional funding in 2010 as opposed to 2008, for example, some projects might be placed on hold, he said. Additionally, if the board decides not to go out for a new bond, the college will plan as if it has “hit the end game,” McCarthy said.

In the meantime, TerAvest presented a number of scenarios for proceeding with construction. Among them is an option in which the college accelerates construction, thereby saving money on construction costs, but gambling on the fact that a bond measure or tax rate extension will pass in 2010 to allow the school to complete its wish list.

The college could save money by doing so, or “we could be spending a lot of money on something that’s not going to happen,” said McCarthy.

TerAvest also solicited input in the event that some originally planned projects need to be reduced in scope or eliminated altogether.

Andrews said the board should “make that bond decision now, then base other decisions on it.”

Busenbark said she needed additional time to consider the matter.

Trustee Charles Meng said, “We shouldn’t really decide right now,” and recommended that the college “go ahead with the projects” for the time being.

Student Trustee Chris Adams told the board that in the event that the college does pursue a bond as early as November of this year, students would be ready and willing to campaign.