By Kimberley Sander Walnut – Mt. San Antonio College, one of California’s largest community colleges, is proposing to restructure the existing bonds and sell $150 million in new Measure RR Bonds. This would help taxpayers save a lot of money by lowering current interest rates. According to Mt. Sac’s website, the $221 million Measure R state bond that was approved in 2001 has provided the means to quickly renovate and replace deteriorating facilities, and has built more than a dozen new online, instructional, athletic, infra-structure, and support spaces. In an effort to keep their promise to provide the technology and environment that cultivates innovative instruction and learning, a Measure RR extension bond, anticipated to generate $353 million in bond funding, and up to $132 million in state matching funds, has been overwhelmingly approved by voters, the website said. Reports state that the bond sale would be possible because the area has received a property value assessment increase, and a lower interest rate would be passed along to those taxpayers, whose annual property taxes pay the bond assessments, saving approximately $2.6 million. The first new bonds, totaling $150 million, will be sold on July 24. Mt. San Antonio College began in 1946 and currently provides affordable educational opportunities to more than a million students. They offer over 200 degree and certification programs and are distinguished in a number of disciplines. Mt. Sac is committed to achieving optimum results in their upgrades and use of the funding in order to complete their master plan and accommodate future enrollment. For more information on the college and the Measure RR bonds, visit http://www.mtsac.edu/about/construction/.