CCSF’s proposed multi-year budget
We know there is much anxiety and uncertainty around the proposed multi-year budget and the impacts it will have on faculty and students. We are feeling it too! How could we not when the messaging from the district is that this is a done deal?
At the 11th hour, on the weekend before the election of our lifetime the Chancellor sent a form to our faculty, asking for feedback on a draft budget that slashes faculty pay by almost $18 million! This was not a good faith effort to address the needs of our students and college. It is a public relations ploy designed to create fear, and it is an attempt to sidestep AFT 2121 in negotiations.
Despite the dire circumstances projected by the district, we do not have a lot of concrete information. The budget reality in the next few years simply has too many uncertainties to have a realistic conversation now. Among the district’s assumptions are that revenue and enrollment will remain flat. But those things could change; we have changed them before!
San Franciscans need their community college to be consistent and reliable, now more than ever. CCSF will play a vital role in rebuilding our economy and reinvigorating our communities by providing access to education and training. Will our City College leaders, and the CCSF Board of Trustees, especially the new board members, stand up and realize they can’t cut their way out of this problem? If they do, we can work together to support a fully funded community college that has always been supported by the San Francisco community and voters election after election.
Our current contract is valid through June 2021, and the multi-year budget that the district is bringing before the board this Thursday is for the academic years 21-22 and beyond. This document is telling us how dismal the situation is, but it is not a foregone conclusion, despite what the district wants us to think.
The proposed schedule reductions for the academic year 21-22, of 600 classes from the current levels is not something the district is obligated to negotiate over, but that does not mean we cannot and will not push back. Additionally, any reductions in salary and/or changes in contractual obligations must be negotiated with our union. The messaging from the district has not been clear on this point.
We know the administration wants us to believe their plan is the only path forward, but that is simply false. Our contract depends on us! We’ll be discussing negotiation strategy at the next delegate assembly meeting Tuesday, November 17th at 3 PM, please join us!
To attend, follow this link from your computer or smartphone: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87563696693?pwd=UHllaFJHYWxCNFBNYndZbEpzbmVxdz09 OR call 1-669-900-6833 then follow the prompts to enter the meeting ID #875 6369 6693 and password: 346656.
Advocate for Equity at CCSF: Speak in Support of Non-credit ESL at Thursday’s BOT
CCSF Noncredit faculty are organizing to push back against the lack of support for Non-credit programs, and in particular, ESL, in the most recent draft of the Multi-Year Budget and Enrollment (MYBE) plan.
What Noncredit ESL are fighting against is a microcosm of what’s happening college wide. It appears that the college plans to balance its budget, in part, by cutting 600 sections college-wide and in particular, argues a reduction in need for noncredit ESL. This downcast budget and enrollment “”plan”” lacks vision in academic and programmatic innovation and growth that address the needs of the aging population, thousands of residents for whom English is not their native language, and the half of San Francisco residents who are educated professionals seeking extra higher education for a multitude of reasons personal and professional.
Not only is this contrary to the college’s own Mission Statement which promises educational programs and services for the pursuit of degrees, career advancement, and life-long learners, it is fiscally short-sighted; our Non-credit ESL program is a net INCOME generator for the college. When we get out of hold harmless and teeter on the fiscal cliff in 2024/2025, we will need this program’s revenue. We should be using hold harmless money to build, not cut right now.
We are calling for speakers to speak in support of a resolution ESL faculty are drafting now and will deliver to board members, including members elect, early Thursday. We resolve that CCSF invest in robust marketing and outreach to San Francisco residents in learner-friendly English and in multiple languages to ensure the equity that our Mission Statement promises to our most vulnerable populations – including people of color, immigrants, low-income residents, the under-housed, the disabled, and the technologically disadvantaged. Many of our students are not enrolled in our classes as they once were because they are being isolated due to the digital divide.
- Don’t leave Non-credit and ESL out of the budget plan!
- Non-credit ESL is an economic engine for our college!
- CCSF has consistently failed to do the outreach needed to connect community members to programs that are useful to them and fiscally productive to the college!
- The fiscal cliff is a fact. Hold harmless will end and adequate planning for increasing enrollment in Non-credit ESL will help fund other portions of the college during a tough financial transition!
FOR STUDENTS:
Students! Please give public comment and tell the board that you are important! Advocate for equity at CCSF among our immigrant and ESL students who are people of color, learning ways to integrate into the culture in this country, up-skilling and retraining to enter the workforce, transferring to credit and degree programs, and being part of the community. Many credit students are transfer students from Non-credit, or they grew up with parents who attended ESL classes. All student voices are powerful, even if you give it in your native language. If you bring an interpreter, include that information in your public comment request email, and you will get more time to speak.
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