What We Need to Know and Do for City College of San Francisco

Today, January 28, 2020, there will be a rally at City Hall  at 12:30 followed by lobbying of supervisors before the take a vote on the bridge funding ordinance between 2:00 and 4:00 PM. 

I want it known that when I contacted all of the trustees about being part of a February 22nd panel on CCSF for OWL, the Older but Wiser Women's League, only two bothered to respond at all.

I want it known that those two were Ivy Lee and John Rizzo.  Both declined because they said they had other commitments on February 22nd, but Ivy Lee made an effort to put me in charge with someone from Administrations (Leslie Milloy, who made an effort but found out no one from Administration was available), and John really addressed some of my questions that we hope to address on February 22nd. 

Here's my letter to John Rizzo this morning:

Hi, John!

I think everyone is interested in permanent funding, such as CHEF, but there's a feeling of urgency, and Leslie Simon made an analogy with "The Gift of the Magi," that once the gift comes, it will be useless because City College as we want it to be will no longer exist.

I heard both Mandelman and Walton talk at a recent (January 15)  supervisors' hearing on this, and they each had a different take on what the Board of Trustee members wanted or were willing to support.  Mandelman had talked to trustees who, like the chancellor, didn't want bridge funding, and Walton had talked to trustees who did.  (It was after that meeting that I asked Mandelman to be on our OWL CCSF  panel and he accepted.)  

I know that Leslie Simon has written to you as well as to Shanell and Brigitte in hopes that you could  reach out to Peskin. Shanell said she did and hopes he jumps on board. . 

I want to say that, while I support the bridge funding initiative and hope you do too, we OWL board members really do want diverse points of view on the panel.   Personally, I think we listen too little to people whose opinions don't match ours.  I'd really like to know how the Administration justifies making the cuts without even  advising the department heads in advance.  I'd really like to know the answers to these questions:

Who makes the decisions about how city college is run and what courses are offered?  For example, if San Francisco wants it to be a community college, and Sacramento wants it to be a junior college, who makes the final decision?

 

 Many cuts and changes appear to be “top down” decisions.  What efforts are underway to create a more inclusive decision making process?  (Whatever happened to shared governess?)

How is City College financed?  What percent of the money comes from the state?  The city?  The county?

Why did City College cut almost 300 classes for the current semester, and why was this done without consulting the department heads and others?

Why did the chancellor say it wasn't an emergency situation and refuse the money that Supervisor Walton and some other supervisors were trying to make available to restore the classes that were cut?

Why is City College always in the red?

Is City College vulnerable to real estate speculation?  For example, what property does CCSF own?  Is it tempted to sell any of this property? 

What's the background and what's the latest on the Performing Arts and Education Center at City College?  How is this affected by the Balboa Reservoir?

 Please understand that I'm not expecting you to answer these questions at the moment.  Will you be at the rally, lobbying, and hearing this afternoon?

Thanks again for being responsive.  I've let others know.

Tina