It’s been one year since we took office. And every day this year, I thought about the sacrifices you made to get us here — giving your money, time and labor to expand opportunities for people through the vital work of the College. Despite devastating budget cuts from Sacramento and as families struggled to bounce back in this economy, I want you to know what your sacrifice meant.
- We pushed through a local hiring goal of 35 percent for the construction of the new Chinatown-North Beach campus. This means more out of work San Francisco residents will have an opportunity to get a well-paying job.
- We saved 30 to 43 classes this year by instituting a 6 percent salary cut for the highest paid administrators, those making more than $150,000 a year. This means about 1500 students will get into core classes that would have otherwise been eliminated.
- We expanded without additional cost the E.O.P.S. Second Chance Program, our reentry counseling services for formerly incarcerated students. This means some of the most vulnerable students will get an opportunity to become meaningful contributors to our society, while having a positive impact on our local and state budgets.
- We enabled students to save up to $100,000 in direct out of pocket costs for textbooks. This means less students will get priced-out out of college because of these hidden expenses.
- We began to operationalize the relationship between the City, the School District and the College. This means we’re on track to better coordinate resources and programs to reduce the drop-out rate and increase the degree or certificate completion rate.
- We introduced ethics and fiscal reform policies to ensure we maintain the public trust in these tough times. This means that taxpayers will know that the College takes its fiduciary duties seriously as we allocate their money.
As we continue to cope with the fiscal, economic and political conditions around us, I want you to know that we are pressing forward with our shared vision of investing in the aspirations of those who seek to make a better life for themselves and their families through the power of education. We need this investment now more than ever.
Thank you again for all you have done.
