City College of San Francisco educators say the school’s ability to offer free tuition to all San Franciscans is under threat amid City Hall’s changing budget priorities.
The city budget adopted last month appropriates $9.3 million to the program this fiscal year — or just shy of half of what was allotted in the 2023-24 budget ($18.9 million) — and nearly $7.2 million in 2025-26.
School officials say that falls well shy of the $15 million in annual baseline funding the program averaged in its first six years, relying upon revenue from a voter-approved 2016 tax on San Francisco’s wealthiest residents. The City, meanwhile, contends the program has accrued millions in unspent funds during its lifetime.
“It’s like pulling the rug out from under [the students],” CCSF English professor Alisa Messer, who campaigned for the Free City College program in 2016, told The Examiner.
“I don’t know that The City does itself any favors by offering something that is so fundamentally purpose-driven and valuable, and then you turn around and take it from people,” she said.