Nearly 200 faculties and administrators at San Francisco City College are facing layoffs due to massive budget cuts in 39 departments and services that could result in City College students losing access to key programs, students and teachers said Friday.
“These cuts will destroy not only our faculty members and their families, but tens of thousands of students who rely on City College as a vital lifeline,” said Mary Braveman, vice president of the American Federation of Teachers 2121. “Our students need more opportunities, not less. “
(Kevin N. Hume / SF examiner)
The City College Board of Trustees on February 25 approved discharge notices in 39 departments and services that could be reduced or, in some cases, eliminated entirely due to a budget deficit of $ 33 million for the 2021-22 period. City College issued preliminary dismissals to 163 faculty members and 34 administrators on March 3.
“We stand in solidarity with our college community that the funding model for community colleges must change,” the City College administration said in a statement this week. “We are determined to meet the needs of our students while making the necessary changes to balance our budget and maintain our accreditation. We urge our work partners, elected officials, and the San Francisco community to work with City College during this difficult financial time. “
(Kevin N. Hume / SF examiner)
City regulators, including regulators Hillary Ronen and Connie Chan, attended events on Friday, which included a protest at City College and an art drive outside City Hall, and expressed solidarity with the group.
“After the toughest year most of us have ever had, City College has strengthened itself again and again during this pandemic, as always … when we needed you most, you were there and committed to us,” said Ronen. “And it’s the faculty, it’s the students, it’s the institution as a whole… I’m here to say it’s not okay, at the time we need City College most, even the Dismiss faculty [those] have fully enrolled the classes. That makes no sense. “
Several faculties, including some that received Pink Slip Notices, spoke about the importance of City College’s various programs, many of which are facing cuts. The focus was on the English as a Second Language or ESL program, one of those programs.
(Kevin N. Hume / SF examiner)
Fanny Law, a member of the ESL faculty and one of those who received a Pink Slip, spoke about the importance of the program in a city where 20% of Franciscans say they have limited knowledge of English.
“Like many Franciscans, I am an immigrant and English is my second language,” Law said. “I know what it is like to come to a country without knowing the language or feeling welcome. City College’s ESL program is vital for new immigrants who need our assistance in acquiring language skills that will lead them to professional programs, jobs, and transfer programs. Without a strong ESL program, there is nowhere for immigrants to start their journey to success in San Francisco. “
The law added that the program was cut by 20% already last year and will be cut another 25% if the proposed layoffs and cuts are implemented.
(Kevin N. Hume / SF examiner)
City College students and alumni also shared their experiences at the school and the way some of the programs faced with cuts changed their lives.
“When I experienced domestic violence, TSPS, which may be reduced by 40%, helped my anxiety,” said Eira Kien, a student at City College. “And when I was scared of going home, I turned to the Women’s Resource Center and Project Survive for help. To find out that the crucial faculty and department of women’s and gender studies have received pink slip-ups, the safety nets they helped set up are roughly swept away from them. “
City College student Jose Castaneda said he moved to San Francisco from Arizona after learning about City College programs and is now studying early childhood education there in hopes of becoming a preschool teacher. He said he hoped to move to San Francisco State or UC Berkeley at some point, but with the proposed cuts, he wasn’t sure it was still possible.
(Kevin N. Hume / SF examiner)
“City College has as many resources and programs for students like me as free City has EOPS, the DREAM Act, and so many other opportunities and programs for AB 540 students like me,” Castaneda said. “And they give us the chance to get higher-income, high-income positions if we want them. Disadvantaged students like me, who see the struggle, who live daily life in need, need and deserve a chance to succeed. CCSF gives us this chance and enables us to feel valued and important in a community in which we no longer really see it. “
In the zoom chat with over 800 signatures, a petition was expressed in which a vote of no confidence was expressed against the leadership of the administration of City College.
After the meeting, officials urged attendees to call regulators and local and state government officials to ask them to save City College from these massive cuts.
(Kevin N. Hume / SF examiner)
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