Letter: Measure F deserves a yes vote

To the community,

I strongly encourage our community to vote yes on Measure F. This measure helps to maintain and upgrade existing facilities on the Lake Tahoe Community College campus, construct a public safety training center for emergency personnel training, and supports the planning of on-site residential housing.

The college gives our local kids a hometown college option upon graduating from high school. The college is an important training ground for our youth, who someday will be leading this community, in much-needed skills such as fire safety, environmental protection and business development.

LTCC is one of the smallest community colleges in the state. Of the 112 colleges, Tahoe is one of eight with less than 3,000 full-time students enrolled. This presents challenges since with a smaller enrollment there is less tuition collected to maintain facilities and to lay the foundation for the next phase of the college. The college has developed a well thought-out strategic plan including increasing energy efficiency, modernizing the science and computer labs, establishing a sustainability degree, and offering four-year degrees in certain fields.

Even non-traditional students get to directly benefit from the college by enrolling in classes that can help further their careers, or to just add a new skill or hobby. There is a robust year-round theater program featuring local talent, a state-of-the-art culinary program, and an expansive physical education facility with a large variety of classes. You can learn a new skill from highly qualified faculty, such as creative writing, pottery, dance, computer programming, and there are many more to choose from.

LTCC and its diverse and rich programs and beautiful campus were built by long-time locals who dedicated thousands of volunteer hours to creating this vision. Forty years ago this dedicated group launched the college in a motel along Highway 50. Twenty-five years ago they broke ground on the first building on the beautiful campus where it exists today.

Let’s not let the heart and soul of the South Shore community and the vision and hard work of dedicated locals just wither away. The measure will add an average of $68 per year to our property taxes. This small investment provides a high return for the community.

Kim Carr, South Lake Tahoe