Ther Foothill--De Anza Community College District wants to address the three R's so it can teach the three R's. Measure E would provide the two colleges with $248 million to repair, renovate and refurbish their aging campuses. In addition, each college would add some classrooms, which in Foothill's would be the first classroom expansion since it opened 30 years ago, according to Leo Chavez, the district's chancellor.

Chavez said Foothill needs to replace roofs and water systems and upgrade science and computer labs.

"An awful lot of people come here to maintain their skills," Chavez said. To continue what he called "work force preparation," the colleges need state-of-the-art science labs and computers, Chavez added.

Foothill has 14,000 students enrolled this fall, while 23,000 attend De Anza. The district serves Palo Alto, Stanford, Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino and part of west San Jose.

Measure E would mean a maximum annual increase in property tax of $14 per $100,000 of assessed property value each year, Chavez said. The bond needs approval by two-thirds of the voters to pass.

The only organized opposition to Measure E comes from the Libertarian Party of California, which states that the measure does not specify exactly how the money will be spent and that taxpayers may be paying off the bonds over the next 40 years.

Once issued, each bond takes 25 years to pay off. The district might issue the bonds at different times over the next 15 years.