{"id":11872,"date":"2019-05-12T11:35:41","date_gmt":"2019-05-12T18:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=11872"},"modified":"2019-05-12T11:45:57","modified_gmt":"2019-05-12T18:45:57","slug":"city-college-of-san-francisco-officials-meet-critics-as-they-propose-class-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2019\/05\/12\/city-college-of-san-francisco-officials-meet-critics-as-they-propose-class-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"City College of San Francisco officials meet critics as they propose class cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nanette Asimov\u00a0<\/a>May 11, 2019 (sfchronicle.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students, faculty and community members concerned about proposed cuts at City College of San Francisco rally on the steps of City Hall before a hearing before an education select committee.Photo: Paul Chinn \/ The Chronicle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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“No department has not had some reduction of classes,\u201d says CCSF Chancellor Mark Rocha. At the same time the college hopes to grow enrollment.Photo: Paul Chinn \/ The Chronicle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Anakh Sul Rama (lower left) makes his point in a demonstration against the reduction by 242 of classes, from a total of 2,432, at City College of San Francisco.Photo: Paul Chinn \/ The Chronicle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Students, teachers and other supporters of City College of San Francisco crowded onto the steps of City Hall Friday to protest the latest crisis to befall their beloved institution \u2014 class cuts \u2014 before piling inside to confront school officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlease don\u2019t take my classes away!\u201d they sang to the tune of \u201cYou Are My Sunshine,\u201d as they waved red banners on the steps that read: \u201cThese cuts won\u2019t heal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City College is slashing 242 classes in a range of subjects next fall from its current palette of 2,432. At the same time, college officials hope to grow enrollment by 12% to 77,552 full- and part-time students, up from the current 69,208.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo department has not had some reduction of classes,\u201d Chancellor Mark Rocha told the first meeting of the Joint City, School District and City College Select Committee, which was convened to air the facts, not to vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany of you have heard about the $32 million budget deficit<\/a> \u2014 and it\u2019s real,\u201d Rocha told the committee \u2014 including its chairman, Supervisor Matt Haney, Supervisor Gordon Mar, Trustee Tom Temprano and school board member Alison Collins \u2014 as dozens of people listened to his presentation and waited for a turn to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even as California is flush with cash, City College continues to struggle after losing thousands of students \u2014 each worth funding from the state \u2014 during the five years it fought to retain its accreditation from 2012 to 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community colleges have long been funded by the state according to the number of full-time students they enroll, with part-time students representing fractions of a full-time student. (Next year that formula will include graduation rates for the first time.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

A decade ago, City College enrolled the equivalent of 44,000 full-time students, worth about $5,000 each, Rocha said. During the accreditation crisis, that figure dropped as low as 19,000, he said. But since last year, when the city began using its transfer tax funding to buy out the cost of college fees for city residents, the figure has crept up to about 22,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rocha said City College no longer has any reserve funding to tap into, and will close its budget deficit with buyouts for administrators, faculty and staff \u2014 and cutting classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he said budget problems are just one reason for eliminating classes. A new state law, AB705<\/a>, which takes effect at all community colleges in the fall, eliminates remedial English and math classes that give no college credit and weigh down a student\u2019s trajectory through school. California State University got rid of such classes <\/a>last year. And like CSU, City College will replace the no-credit classes with extra college-level classes for credit in English and math that are still meant to help lagging students catch up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third reason for the class cuts, Rocha said, is that California\u2019s new funding formula for community colleges is forcing campuses across the state to prioritize classes that propel students toward a degree or certificate. City College\u2019s six-year graduation rate is an abysmal 55% \u2014 and less than 35% for students of color, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s that transformation, and the de-emphasis on students who take their time and sample classes that strike their fancy, that has struck fear in many protesters, who say City College will no longer be the intellectual haven it has always been for seniors, homeless people and all manner of nontraditional students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI need my day classes. I need my evening classes, I need my online classes,\u201d gray-haired Angela Thomas told the committee as she took the microphone to speak against the cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another woman, who gave her name as Tracy, told the committee that she is a disabled student and that she\u2019d been prepared to commit suicide years ago until she discovered City College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI found that classes really helped me,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are the best medication. … You can cut anything \u2014 but not education!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dozens of people spoke. In the end, Haney offered a glimmer of hope when he said the city should look for a way to help City College even more than it already does: The city, using funds from its building transfer tax, buys out college fees for all San Francisco residents, allowing them to attend for free. But Haney said it was possible that more could be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCity College has saved people\u2019s lives,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to expand it. Not downsize.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com<\/a> Twitter: @NanetteAsimov<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Nanette Asimov<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Follow Nanette on:https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SFChronicle\/<\/a>NanetteAsimov<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nanette Asimov covers California\u2019s public universities \u2014 the University of California and California State University \u2014 as well as community colleges and private universities. You can find out what university leaders are up to, what’s next for students and faculty, and what the latest breaking news is in on California campuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, Nanette covered K-12 education for 20 years. Her stories led to changes in charter school laws, prompted a ban on Scientology in California public schools, and exposed cheating and censorship in testing. A past president of the Society of Professional Journalists\u2019 Northern California chapter, Nanette has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
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Nanette Asimov\u00a0May 11, 2019 (sfchronicle.com) Students, teachers and other supporters of City College of San Francisco crowded onto the steps of City Hall Friday to protest the latest crisis to befall their beloved institution \u2014 class cuts \u2014 before piling inside to confront school officials. \u201cPlease don\u2019t take my classes… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11872"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11872"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11880,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11872\/revisions\/11880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}