MADERA - In June 2016, State Center Community College District (SCCCD) passed Measure "C", a $485 million facilities bond that will develop new and improved facilities at Fresno City College, Reedley College, Clovis Community College, Madera and Oakhurst Community College Centers'. Funding for a new West Fresno campus and a first responder’s camp in Southeast Fresno are also included in the bond.

The first Measure C facility scheduled for construction is now complete. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Center for Agriculture and Technology at the Madera Community College Center (MCCC) was held last Thursday afternoon at the college campus located on Avenue 12 in Madera.

The Center for Agriculture and Technology was built next to the Center for Advanced Manufacturing in the northeast corner of the campus. BMY Construction Inc. has completed the construction in time to hold classes during the spring semester, which began Monday. The Center is approximately 10,000 square feet and will expand the current agriculture and manufacturing programs that are offered at MCCC.

It will house general educational classrooms, a plant science la faculty offices, and shops for agricultural mechanics, welding, and industrial maintenance. In addition to the classrooms and lab space, the Center will include counseling and embedded tutoring. Madera Community College Center serves more than 7,000 students sits on approximately 114 acres of land. It is on schedule to transition from a center to full college status in 2020.

State Center Community College District is the size of Connecticut, serving 1.7 million people in the counties of Fresno, Madera, and portions of Kings and Tulare. It is governed by a seven-member board elected by area. The board members are President John Leal, Vice President Annalisa Perea, Secretary Magdalena Gomez, and Trustees Richard Caglia, Deborah Ikeda, Bobby Kahn, and Eric Payne.