Schools
Effort to Make San Francisco City College Free Moves Forward
Backers are looking beyond tuition to include books and fees.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — An ordinance creating a fund to pay City College of San Francisco tuition for city residents was approved in committee today, but will only take effect if additional funding measures are approved.
The ordinance, introduced by Supervisor Jane Kim, was approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors' Budget and Finance Committee and will go before the full board on Sept. 27.
The measure creates a fund to pay City College enrollment fees for city residents or, for those who already qualify for financial aid, up to $1,000 in financial assistance for materials such as books.
Find out what's happening in San Franciscofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
However the money for the fund is intended to come from a measure on the November ballot, Proposition W, that would increase the real estate transfer tax by 0.25 percent on buildings sold for $5 million or more.
That measure is expected to raise around $44 million a year for the general fund if approved by voters. The board would then have to appropriate the money for the city college subsidy program, which is expected to cost nearly $13 million a year.
Find out what's happening in San Franciscofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Kim today said the ordinance creating the fund specifies that it will not become operative until the board appropriates funding from the real estate transfer tax. It also calls for the development of a reserve to ensure
funds are available even in years when the transfer tax generates less money.
"The difference between what you can earn if you graduate with a degree from City College or if you graduate with only a high school degree is almost $1,000 a month," Kim said today. "We can and should make higher
education free because we know that's the way to lift more people to the middle class and beyond."
City College officials have said the city subsidy could help boost enrollment, which has fallen in the wake of widely publicized problems with the school's accreditation.
Thea Selby, vice president of the college board, said the school is working to resolve those issues and hopes to have its accreditation reaffirmed in February.
— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock
