Delta College vote delayed

A vote on approving a Delta College campus in Galt has been delayed until at least January.

San Joaquin Delta College will delay Tuesday’s expected vote on a future north county campus in Galt, with President Kathy Hart saying this week that she doesn’t want to move forward with what appears to be a “divided” Board of Trustees.

Instead, Hart said she will lay out some “alternatives” for trustees at their meeting on Tuesday in advance of a possible vote in January. She declined to detail in advance exactly what those alternatives will be.

Hart said the change in plans is not a retreat from her administration’s proposal to build in Galt, which has proven controversial for several reasons. Rather, she said she wants to give board members more time to consider their options.

The delay is at least in part related to the election of a new trustee, Carlos Huerta, who has expressed doubts about the Galt proposal. With the addition of Huerta, and based on other trustees’ past public comments, any vote held next week might have been very close.

“I don’t want to start this new board out with a big fight,” said Hart, who recently was given a contract extension to 2019. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to do here. I don’t want a divided board.”

The Galt campus, which a college consultant said this week could cost $111 million, has been opposed by Lodi-area advocates who believe the new campus should be built in that community instead. Others have expressed concern that placing the agriculture-oriented campus in Galt would compel the college to sell its working farm in Manteca.

The decision before trustees now has no direct bearing on the Manteca property. But selling the farm, which has been considered in the past, could raise the cash necessary to build the Galt campus. Delta officials also have discussed the possibility of floating another bond for voter approval.

Bill Huyett, a retired school superintendent and spokesman for a committee that has long lobbied for a Lodi campus, said Friday that he was glad to hear that next week’s vote had been delayed.

“I want the best for our kids, and I think that it’s a good thing to take more time and to look at options,” Huyett said. “That’s what I’ve been saying all the time. And I commend (Hart) for doing that.”