San Francisco Public Press (https://www.sfpublicpress.org/author/lissette-alvarez/)
A tuition refund of $249 or more per semester that the California State University system is planning to give most full-time students will be a godsend for thousands feeling financially pinched in their academic pursuits. But the move will also reduce tuition revenues into the system by about 3 percent this school year.
Federal food aid cutbacks have forced the San Francisco Food Bank to seek additional cash donations after it failed for a second straight year to receive money from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program.
The passage of local and state education measures Tuesday added $11 million to the budget of City College of San Francisco for next year. But the school still faces a loss of accreditation if it fails to balance its budget responsibly. The school now must confront a $15 million budget gap, and according to state Proposition 30, also needs to meet an enrollment target. That’s going to be particularly hard, given the demand from the outside accreditation team that City College slash unusually high salaries and benefits. Other instructions from the Accreditation Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, and from the state’s Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team, include improvements in governance, student learning outcomes and fiscal management.
California is reliably “blue” — Barack Obama carried the state by 23 points in the last election — largely because of the rise of ethnic voters, a new survey by the Field Poll found. “This hasn’t always been the case,” said the poll’s director, Mark DiCamillo. Republicans won seven of the nine elections between World War II and 1982, when the state became solidly Democratic in federal elections. “The main reason for it is because of the growth of ethnic population.”
Free courses could be beyond the reach of many “lifelong learning” students under changes proposed by City College of San Francisco’s leadership. The courses, which have been free for 30 years, could end up becoming fee-based as the college struggles to keep its accreditation by resolving looming budget deficits.
Free “lifelong learning” classes for the community could be the first cuts as City College of San Francisco struggles to downsize and retain its accreditation, say several candidates for the college’s Board of Trustees. They spoke at a forum sponsored by New America Media. Four seats are up for election on the seven-member board.
Supervisor Eric Mar Monday unveiled new efforts to raise awareness about domestic violence. Working with the Department on the Status of Women, Mar focused on working through the city’s workforce to educate the public and to help those city employees who are victims themselves.
