Editor:

Keep the Community in Our City College-Vote for Vick Chung, Anita Martinez, Adolfo Velasquez, and Susan Solomon!

San Francisco is in danger of losing a vital institution that has been serving our community for the past 87 years: City College. In the most affluent city in the country, we are being told that there is not enough money to provide basic classes like English as a Second Language or to continue stellar, high-demand programs in departments such as Computer Networking and Information Technology, Culinary, Broadcast Electronic Media Arts, Horticulture and Floristry, Automotive/Motorcycle, Aircraft Maintenance, and countless others. This doesn’t add up.

The narrative that gets recycled is that City College is facing financial hardship and needs to tighten its belt and live within its means. For so many, education is the key to a job with a livable wage, improved mental health and increased civic engagement. These are things worth paying for. Did you know that roughly one in four residents of San Francisco has taken a class at City College? Some started off in ESL classes, continued their education, found their passion, and established their careers. Others leafed through a CCSF catalog, took a class, and changed the trajectory of their lives – for the better. People come to City College for diverse reasons: to gain additional job skills, maintain health and mobility, engage in lifelong learning and establish deeper connections with their community.

The current administration and board of City College are continuing the slow and steady strangulation of the school. They have claimed cuts are due to low enrollment, but evidence points to the contrary. Some online ESL courses have 200 students, yet the administration refuses to open additional sections. The situation is similar with English 1A, the prerequisite for most credit classes and a requirement for a CSU/UC transfer; hundreds of students were put on a waitlist while the administration refused to open additional sections – as highly qualified instructors, recently laid off, were eager to return.

If you value education, civic engagement, and community, please act to save this institution that has served the City steadfastly for so many years. We need a board of trustees that supports the mission of the school and will work to build it back. Four of the incumbent trustees on the board are up for re-election – and not one of them deserves to stay. Please help City College get new leadership and a chance to survive. Vote for Vick Chung, Anita Martinez, Adolfo Velasquez, and Susan Solomon, who will fight for City College to remain a community college that serves the diverse needs of this city.

Thank you for the opportunity to share this letter with my Sunset/Richmond neighbors. 

Jennifer Irvine