In 1965, Lassen Community College severed its ties with Lassen Union High School. The college then began the process to locate and build a campus of their own.
During that process college officials decided to expand its territory with neighboring counties of Modoc, Plumas and eastern Sierra. After all, for nearly forty-three years residents of those counties took advantage of the opportunities made available to them at Lassen College.
On June 4, 1968 the voters of those counties, as well as Lassen, would decide if it was to be a four county community college. A college spokesman stated, “We want quality education in this mountain area at a reasonable cost.” The ballot measure ran into trouble with Plumas County, whose residents planned to annex to Peralta College in Alameda County. The major hurdle was the tax issue to fund the costs to build a new campus. While the Lassen voters approved the measure, the neighbors did not.