MHCC may be getting a ‘new pair of shoes’

It’s been four decades since east Multnomah County voters agreed to pump money into major campus improvements at MHCC.

A significant makeover is long overdue, the school’s first-year leader believes.

She’s leading a strategic charge by Mt. Hood to win new spending resources by  May 2016.

“It’s time for a new pair of shoes and a new hairdo,” said MHCC President Debbie Derr, whose administrative team is in the initial planning stages of placing a general obligation bond measure before local voters.

Success at the ballot hasn’t come for Mt. Hood since 1974, with several bond measure failures since.

This happened in 1995, twice in 2002, and most recently, in 2006.

“The college was built for the future, without question. But since that time, we have been unsuccessful in convincing our voters that capital investment in their community college is necessary,” Derr said.

A new bond measure has quickly become one of her larger priorities, and she’s eager to take on the challenge. “I want it to happen this time!” she said.

In 1974, voters passed a $6.3 million bond measure for Mt. Hood, with 59 percent support.

That followed successful bond measures in 1969 ($5.9 million, 68 percent support) and 1967 ($6.65 million, 76 percent support).

Derr’s strategy for this measure centers on in-depth advertising and connecting with the local community, she said.

That will require extensive outreach efforts.

“We will be in service clubs. We will be in (city council) chambers,” she said. “We will be in economic development organizations. We’ll be talking with parents of students who will be coming to Mt. Hood and getting support of our local K-12 systems.

“We’re going to be very methodical and really reach out into our communities and talk to them about what their community college is all about – how we support economic development and how we support job creation and the vitality of the community,” she said.

Derr intends to make Mt. Hood’s financial impact on east Multnomah County clear to all.

“My goal is to really get people thinking about how important this college is to the district we serve,” she said.

The college is currently conducting a facilities audit to “look at what our needs are in relationship to the infrastructure of the college,” Derr said. A safety and security audit is also under way.

When completed, the audits will give a better idea of how to steer the college into the future – both in technology for engineering and mathematics, for example, and the physical security of students, staff and visitors.

Derr won’t speculate on a dollar amount for the bond necessary to fund a major facelift.

Any proposed bond would supply funds to all three MHCC campuses, including the main Gresham campus, the Bruning Center and the Maywood Park campus.

Derr emphasized that extensive polling of the community will take place prior to finalizing details of a ballot measure, and then actually seeking a vote.

“It doesn’t make sense for us to go out if the polling shows our community won’t support it,” she said.

“Once we feel confident that we have a pretty good chance of passing, then I will take that to the (MHCC District) Board.”

Derr said there are two primary reasons Mt. Hood has failed to pass a bond despite several attempts.

Foremost is a disconnect with area voters.

“I think there may have been times where we didn’t do as good of a job of listening to our constituents and our communities about what they would support and what they would not support,” Derr said.

Second, “Making sure we get people who support the college out to vote is huge,” she said. “I always say if every single student voted, we probably would pass the levy.”

Derr, who took office in July after previously serving in Mt. Hood’s administration for 15 years, ending in 2002, said she doesn’t feel her legacy will rest on success or failure of a new bond measure.

She instead hopes to leave behind an increased success rate for MHCC students, she said.

A successful bond effort requires plainly stating the case for new investment in Mt. Hood, Derr said.

“How do we make sure we are talking about the importance of this institution in this region, in our district? If we can clearly and with credibility provide that information and evidence to our voters, I definitely think we can pass a referendum… a G.O. (general obligation) bond.

“We have a big, big job ahead of us,” she said. “We have a big question to ask ourselves, in regards to ‘What is Mt. Hood for the future?’”