A couple months ago, when City College of San Francisco faced massive cuts that would devastate programs and result in laying off hundreds of teachers, I read the obituary of Vartan Gregorian, an academic who restored the New York Public Library in the 1980s. What he said about the library – that it’s not a luxury but an integral part of that city, echoed my frustrated and despairing thoughts about City College of San Francisco.
Gregorian claimed New York public libraries made and saved lives. That’s also true of City College, where people learn skills, find jobs, transfer to other colleges, and find community and joy in painting or language classes.
I taught at City College for many years, most recently subjects including literature, civics, writing and humanities to adults who were getting a high school diploma. In class, we read Sherman Alexie, Emily Dickinson, and Jhumpa Lahiri, discussed the Constitution and the powers of the three branches of government, visited the Ramayana exhibit at the Asian Art Museum, the Monet show at the Legion of Honor, the de Young ‘s show on Tenochtitlan, and murals in San Francisco’s Balmy Alley with artist Josue Rojas. Many of my students worked, often more than one job, and some were taking care of children or parents, but they committed to getting a high school diploma and where that could lead them.
Every year the program graduated more people, and students transferred to schools such as the University of California at Berkeley, the University of San Francisco, and San Francisco State University. They became teachers, counselors, social workers, coaches, and city employees.
The Board of Trustees proposed cutting 163 full-time teachers, which would have also meant the loss of hundreds of part timers. Programs, like English as a Second Language, nursing, those for disabled students, Philippines Studies (the only program like it in the country), and aircraft maintenance, would have been eviscerated or sharply scaled back.
To stop the cuts, teachers agreed to reductions in their wages between 4 and 11 percent. Three days after this difficult and wrenching decision, college officials proposed giving the chancellor a raise of 23. 5 percent, to about $420,000, underscoring how little they cared about the teachers and their sacrifice. This is the chancellor who instead of trying to expand the school to serve more people has talked about whittling it down to about 20,000 students.
It’s stunning and disheartening to see trustees considering a pay raise for someone who already makes $340,000 right after they’ve proposed cutting hundreds of teachers’ jobs.
The proposed pay raise was rescinded – for now. And the teachers’ pay cuts has bought the school some time, but not fixed the core problems. Many people in the Bay Area have been affected by this institution that’s at risk of being gutted. But this isn’t just about individuals. With so many jobs lost, the school is important to restoring the city’s economy. We need workers who can fill jobs and people need the training in the professional and vocational programs CCSF offers. But it’s not only about employment. With the pandemic, we’ve seen how brutal isolation can be and the importance of connection. CCSF is vital for San Francisco to recover emotionally, not just economically. Don’t we want people to feel a part of society and to keep learning, not just for economic gain?
When Gregorian started his campaign to restore the New York Public Library, it had a $50 million deficit, and board members were talking about cutting hours, selling off valuable collections, and closing some branches. Once that happens, it’s rare for those services to come back. If CCSF gets rid of aircraft maintenance, say, that program is likely gone forever.
It’s a very different institution, but CCSF, like the New York Public Library, is a treasure. The college faces real financial struggles, as the library did, with a projected $33 million budget deficit. But to just shrug, give up, and sneer at people who want more opportunities, a better life, and human connection is unimaginative, shortsighted, and mean-spirited. Another thing Gregorian said is even more true of City College: “The library is not a cost center! It is an investment in the city’s past and future.”