Committee backs workforce education and recovery fund to expand City College training

The Government Audit and Oversight Committee on Oct. 29 recommended that the Board of Supervisors consider an ordinance to add the Workforce Education and Recovery Fund to the Administrative Code to provide financial support to City College of San Francisco workforce and professional programs.

Chair Supervisor Gordon Marr said the measure responds to the unprecedented number of workers unemployed during the pandemic: "Many, perhaps most of the more than 200,000 San Franciscans who filed for UI over the past 8 months will not be able to return to their previous jobs," Marr said. He described the fund as a strategic investment in City College to expand vocational and career-technical programs and related supports.

Marr said the city budget includes a modest $200,000 allocated to the fund to create a pilot for the upcoming spring semester intended to support the creation of at least 10 new career technical education classes serving hundreds of unemployed workers in sectors such as health education, nursing, emergency response, information technology and building trades. Marr thanked co-sponsors and City College leaders and staff involved in developing the proposal.

There were no callers in the queue for public comment on the item. Chair Marr moved that the committee send the item to the full Board with a positive recommendation; the motion passed by a 3-0 vote.

The ordinance will be considered by the full Board, where supervisors may modify funding, program design, or the implementation timeline.