Board of Supervisors urges restoration of elected trustees at City College; students and faculty decry secret decisions

Supervisor David Campos introduced a resolution on Feb. 11 calling on the state chancellor and the City College leadership to restore the college’s duly elected board of trustees and to return decisionmaking to an open, public process.

Campos told the Board of Supervisors that City College’s special trustee has been making major decisions without public input since the Board of Governors removed powers from the elected trustees in July 2013. Campos cited recent reporting and campus complaints that administrators received raises while faculty wages fell and that student payment-policy changes forced some low-income students to drop classes.

The resolution drew a large wave of public comment from City College faculty, staff, students and former trustees who described class cancellations, delays in financial aid disbursements, and other changes they said were made without adequate public process. The student trustee said she had been excluded from the chancellor’s search committee and that “major changes to the college are happening in secret.” Faculty and union leaders urged restoring an elected board to re-establish transparency and accountability.

Speakers offered specific figures and claims during public comment: an AFT representative said the college had restored some funding but that problems remain; a speaker identified as a faculty member said about 100 class sections had been cut in recent weeks; another speaker said current enrollment was "over 20% lower than it was a year ago." Multiple speakers contrasted the special trustee’s authority with the college’s history of democratic governance and urged returning power to elected trustees.

What was introduced: Campos said he will present the resolution to the Neighborhood Services and Safety Committee for further consideration; the resolution asks the state community colleges’ chancellor to restore the voice of San Francisco voters and “bring back transparency and public accountability” to City College.

Why it matters: City College serves a wide cross-section of San Franciscans — veterans, immigrants, low-income students and workforce learners — and speakers at the meeting said governance changes were affecting class availability, financial aid and students’ ability to stay enrolled.

Next steps: The item was introduced and expected to be scheduled for committee hearing; the resolution itself was not adopted on the floor during the Feb. 11 meeting.

Sources and evidence: Supervisor Campos’ introduction and more than a dozen public speakers, including faculty, the student trustee and representatives of AFT 2121, appeared in the public comment record and the meeting transcript.