More community officials are lending their official clout to a pair of November bond measures to benefit the College of the Sequoias in Visalia and Tulare.

Visalia City Council members voted 4-0 Tuesday to support Measure I, a $28 million bond that would allow the district to tap $47 million in state school construction funds, all to upgrade facilities at the main COS campus in Visalia. The original college was built in 1939, and while there have been improvements over the years, there are plenty of opportunities for modernization.

Among the planned projects: health-education technology and equipment for classrooms in the new health building; technology in classrooms elsewhere on the campus; maintenance needs such as roofing and plumbing; energy-saving technology; renovating the COS Theatre; and construction of a new gymnasium.

And in recent days, a companion bond, Measure J, picked up the endorsements of the Lindsay City Council and the Pixley Town Council. Measure J is a $60 million bond aimed at building a new COS campus in Tulare to serve southern Tulare County and adding education programs in Corcoran and Lindsay. If it passes, it will be matched with more than $128 million in state money.

To pass, each measure requires 55% of voters in its project assessment area to vote "yes." Measure I will be voted upon, and repaid by assessments, in the Visalia part of the College of the Sequoias district. Measure J's voters and property assessments are in the Tulare/Corcoran areas of the district.