Today's data proves Palm Springs remains the best location for COD's West Valley campus [Opinion]
PALM SPRINGS — The College of the Desert's (COD) West Valley campus serves everyone who wants to learn, whether you're a traditional or nontraditional student or a worker seeking a professional certification. is being built for. The West Valley campus should be ideally located primarily for Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, and Palm Springs.
In 2004, Coachella Valley voters passed Measure B, which issued $346.5 million in education bonds to expand COD's presence beyond its main campus in Palm Desert. Two years later (2006), the cities of Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs began the process of insisting that the university's West Valley campus be located in their respective cities. Former Mayor and current College of the Desert Trustee Ron Orden and I served on a subcommittee for the City of Palm Springs to prove that Palm Springs was the right place. Our evidence shows that Palm Springs is close to most traditional college students in the West Valley (Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, and Palm Springs), and Palm Springs holds the highest student population, making it an attractive destination for workforce development. We have shown that we offer the best opportunities. The percentage of work within her four educational pillars (Hospitality and Culinary Arts, Media and Arts, Medical Affairs, and Sustainable Technology) at the West Valley Campus. Palm Springs was the perfect location considering that traditional college students attend classes during the day, while non-traditional students who worked in Palm Springs typically attend classes in the evening.
On September 21, 2007, after the establishment of the Blue Ribbon Commission and intense debate between the cities of Desert Hot Springs and Palm Springs, the COD Board of Directors voted unanimously to select Palm Springs as the preferred location for the West Valley. I've made a decision. Campus based on several categories of data. That data is presented in a report titled “Western Coachella Valley Campus Site Assessment.” The study considered the respective advantages of the two cities based on population and future growth rates through 2030, employment locations, high school enrollment projections, environmental conditions, and site location. .
Two decades later, voters have approved 2004 Measure B ($346.5 million) and 2016 Measure CC ($577 million) to complete the West Valley campus and provide higher education opportunities throughout Coachella. approved two education bond measures totaling nearly $1 billion. valley. Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been spent developing the Mecca/Thermal Campus, Indio's East Valley Campus, and the City of Coachella classroom and student service center, all for the east side of the Valley. Also included is a long list of major improvements at Palm Desert's main campus. On the contrary, the West Valley has only established a few classrooms in Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City, a small temporary campus in Palm Springs, and no permanent campus. There is nothing.
Below is a look at the campus: https://codbond.maasco.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/PSDP_animation_20230613.mp4
At least one COD board member, who is up for re-election in November, brought the topic back to the surface, claiming “new data” shows Desert Hot Springs is preferable to Palm Springs for the West Valley campus. . Because of the growing demand for low-income Latino students in Desert Hot Springs. But the same needs he sees throughout other areas of the PSUSD district and at much higher levels. In fact, looking at today's data is nearly identical to the future projections in his 2007 report, when the board selected Palm Springs as its final location.
The first category in the 2007 report was population. The report predicted that Desert Hot Springs would be the fastest growing city in the West Valley, but still, by 2030, Cathedral City and Palm Springs would account for 74% of the total population. Probably. The 2007 predictions still hold true. In 2024, Cathedral City, with a population of 52,494, and Palm Springs, with a population of 45,223, will account for 75% of the West Valley's total population, while Desert Hot Springs, with a population of 33,091, will account for only 25%.
The second category was a place of employment, as community colleges often train or retrain workers for workforce development. A 2007 report predicted that by 2030, Cathedral City and Palms Springs would account for 90% of the jobs in the three Western cities. According to CVEP's 2022 Greater Palm Springs Economic Report Emerging, 91% of jobs are in Palm Springs (26,918 jobs) and Cathedral City (9,913 jobs) compared to Desert Hot Springs (3,632 jobs). is shown to remain. That prediction from 2007 still holds true today.
The third category is school enrollment. In a 2007 report, Desert Hot Springs predicted that by 2012 he would have the fastest growing student population in PSUSD, accounting for 40% of the students. That prediction did not hold true for him in 2024. Additionally, if you look at the ethnicity and socio-economic status of all PSUSD high school students, they are nearly identical. PSUSD serves a higher percentage of socioeconomically disadvantaged children than any other medium-sized or large school district in California. Nearly 20,500 (97.5%) of the district's 21,000 students are socio-economically disadvantaged, and about 10% (nearly 2,000) of students are considered homeless, according to state data. ing. Looking at her PSUSD enrollment data for 2023, Desert Hot Springs High School enrolls 1,724 students, nearly 81% of whom identify as Latino students. Palm Springs High School has 1,510 students, nearly 71% of whom identify as Latino, but Palm Springs High School also has the highest percentage of black students at 6.36%. Become. Cathedral City High School has 1,370 students and nearly 90% identify as Latino, and Mount San Jacinto High School in Cathedral City has 356 students and nearly 91% identify as Latino. I identify as Latino. Because Rancho Mirage High School's boundaries cover most of Cathedral City, it must also include its enrollment of 1,464 students, 82.5% of whom identify as Latino. 73% of Palm Springs Unified School District high school students attend high schools south of I-10, and only 27% attend high schools north of I-10 is. In other words, he built COD's West Valley campus next to Desert Hot. At Springs High School, 73% of PSUSD high school students must travel approximately 14 miles to class. If COD's West Valley campus is built next to Palm Springs High School as planned, 73 percent of students will only have to travel within nine miles of her to class.
Also, remember that community college is for all learners, not just “traditional” students who have graduated from high school. Anyone can use COD! This is why they are called “community colleges” because they provide lifelong learning. For example, a “nontraditional” student is someone who is 40 years old and wants to change careers by learning a new trade or skill. Or maybe he's in his 60s or girlfriend in his 70s and wants to learn how to use a computer, cook like a famous chef, play golf, or start a new business. According to his COD's institutional research data on COD's official website, these “non-traditional” students make up his 28% of COD's enrollment.
The fourth category in the 2007 report was environmental factors. The results showed that out of 11 environmental factors, Palm Springs had an advantage in every category. Desert Hot Springs, on the other hand, scored in only three of his 11 divisions. These elements have not changed in 17 years. Rather, the relocation of COD's West Valley campus from the North Palm Springs Tramview site to the former Palm Springs Mall site near Palm Springs High School only improved scores on these 11 environmental factors, decreasing them. I didn't let it happen.
Today's data shows that the 2007 report was accurate in predicting the future. Nothing major has changed to change the COD board's 2007 decision to locate the West Valley campus in Palm Springs. The rhetoric you may hear today is just another example of politicians trying to score political points in an election year and not having the best interests of students or school districts in mind. Palm Springs remains the perfect location for COD's West Valley Campus. And he has never had the COD board change direction from his 2007 unanimous decision.
image source
- Number of COD registrants by age – Copy: Ginny Foat
- Ferrell Main Campus Admission: COD