It’s time to move forward.

The people of Maine have overwhelmingly approved a $15.5 million investment in Maine’s work force through our community colleges. Brunswick will see $2.25 million of this investment in the form of a fourth and fifth building renovated at Southern Maine Community College’s Midcoast Campus.

Voilá, a substantial portion of the former naval base is now a vibrant and growing college campus. Thank you, voters. The best is yet to come.

Five hundred students are already on campus preparing for successful futures. They’re gaining the skills and perspectives needed to grow Maine’s economy, in business, engineering, nursing, composites and a broad range of liberal studies.

Thanks to the new bond’s $2.25 million, along with remaining proceeds from a bond approved by voters in 2010, the number of motivated students on the Midcoast Campus will grow from 500 to 2,000 as all five buildings become fully operational.

An additional $1.15 million from the new bond will purchase state-of-the-art equipment for SMCC’s Integrated Manufacturing program, increasing the number of skilled graduates flowing to understaffed employers. It’s a big step in the right direction — yet buildings and equipment can’t yield success on their own.

Checklist for a successful college campus:

Upgraded buildings and grounds? Check.

Strong support from the community including business leaders and educators? Double check.

A stream of eager students? Absolutely.

Talented and committed faculty and staff ? We have the best — and they’re as eager as the students and employers to see the Midcoast Campus reach its full potential.

So everything is moving in the right direction. And the speed of progress has been impressive since the Navy handed us the keys in late 2011.

Yet to grow from 500 students to 2,000, the campus will need more faculty to teach more courses.

We’ll need to purchase more lab supplies and computers.

The campus library and advising center must be staffed as we provide food service, security, tech support and facilities maintenance.

In short, the already successful and growing Midcoast Campus needs an operating budget.

Generous donations to the SMCC Foundation and the Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges help — and we are as thankful to donors as we are to the voters of Maine.

As the Midcoast Campus fuels economic and cultural growth, our biggest challenge will be our day-to-day operating expenses. Everything else is falling in line with impressive results.

RONALD G. CANTOR Ph.D. is president of Southern Maine Community College.