On March 14, more than 2,000 supporters of the Save City College of San Francisco Coalition gathered in front of San Francisco’s City Hall to demand action to prevent the takeover of one of the most durable and democratic education programs in the United States. The action reflected the growing organization of the coalition, which has worked hard to reach out not only to students, faculty and staff at CCSF but also to the broader community, and particularly to the unions.
Following the rally, the American Federation of Teachers adopted a resolution at its State Convention supporting the fight back. The resolution noted that the attempted takeover was part of a larger, national attack on public education generally, and that the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges represents an effort by private interests such as the Gates Foundation and Lumina Foundation to dismember public education and make it part of a corporate-dominated educational system.
The effects of the ACCJC offensive are being felt across the California community college system—the largest public higher education system in the United States. With funding being cut, instructors being fired and courses being canceled or consolidated, many community college students find themselves shut out of the education system because classes fill up so quickly.
The number of students in the California community college system decreased by half a million between the 2008-09 and 2011-12 school years. “Solutions” like SB 520, which would allow students shut out of the community college system to transfer credits from online courses offered by private colleges such as the University of Phoenix, show that state politicians are colluding to divert resources from the public education system towards private corporations and make students settle for a second-tier education.
The fight to save CCSF began with an organization of students, faculty, staff and community in July 2012, when the unelected California ACCJC issued a “show cause” order demanding that CCSF change its democratic organization and cut programs or face closure. Contrary to ACCJC claims, CCSF is among the academically highest-rated two-year colleges in the nation. For example, its radiology program competes with Johns Hopkins for best in the country.
As the organizers argue, the real reasons behind the ACCJC attack are political, not academic. The college offers a strong, community-based program that serves working people, and particularly immigrants, with job retraining, community and labor relations programs that include innovative programs in community relations such as its first-in-the-nation LGBT Studies program. Also targeted by the ACCJC is the unique internal structure of CCSF, which provides strong support for academic programming through designated faculty chairs for each department, partial benefits for part-time faculty, and active engagement with a wide variety of community organizations.
Struggle gains momentum
After an active organizing campaign throughout the fall semester, Save CCSF emerged in January with new momentum shaped by a strengthening of coordinated actions by the students and faculty. These actions included a takeover of the school’s administrative offices in February and an information campaign targeting the 73 percent of San Francisco voters who supported and passed a new tax levy specifically to support the school’s historic mission.
Rather than respecting the will of the voters, the ACCJC is now attempting to seize the new tax revenue while continuing to demand that faculty and programs be axed and that the school serve only programs supported by ACCJC. In addition, the special trustee imposed by the ACCJC is using this attack to impose a 10 percent wage cut on teachers who survive the layoffs.
As organizers stress, the fight to save CCSF is part of a larger fight to save public education, and the Save CCSF Coalition is actively moving toward linking to other college and community-based groups throughout California, the United States and other countries in what has become an international struggle.
