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Dear 91����¥ Community,

May is truly my favorite time of year, even under present circumstances, because it gives the entire community a chance to celebrate the hard work and achievement of our graduating students. While this year’s graduation is certainly bittersweet, I hope you’ll take the time to watch our  and read the 2020 graduation program, which lists all of our graduates by name. I also hope you’ll join me in a  (from the safety of our homes, of course) this coming Tuesday, June 2 at 8:00pm, when we’ll open our windows and sing along to “Pomp and Circumstance” to give our graduates some cheers! Be sure to post your photos and videos on social media with the #SFGradCheer hashtag so graduates can follow along.  My hope is that this time next year, we are well past this shelter-in-place and we’ll be back to holding commencement as it should be – very public and very loud!  I invite this year’s graduates to join us next year in celebrating your accomplishments.

And even during this time of celebration, we must also acknowledge the difficult path ahead. This week’s note includes details from yesterday evening’s Board of Trustees meeting, the R2C Task Force, and benefits available to our employees.

The College Needs Your Help - Now!

This week and next week, the State Budget Committee is determining the fate of California community college funding for the upcoming 2020-2021 fiscal year. The College has been aggressively lobbying the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, the State Chancellor, state assembly members and state senators to maintain our College's revenue at a level that will allow us to continue to prepare our students to enter the workforce and fuel the economy. This includes funding for programs like allied health and English as a Second Language.

And this is where you come in! We need every student, faculty and classified staff member, administrator, and San Franciscan to send a message to the Co-chair of the State Budget Committee, District 19 Assemblymember Phil Ting, explaining why it is so critical for City College to remain fully funded.

President Williams, Vice President Temprano, Trustee Selby and I met with Assemblymember Ting on Thursday to advocate for the state to forgive the College’s $16.8M penalty charges, which the College pays via a $2.4M annual apportionment reduction. Assemblymember Ting is a longtime City College champion and supporter. He has agreed to consider our request. We’ll keep you abreast of our progress.

Budget and Labor Update

As I shared in last week's community message, we are working hard to close a projected $35M million deficit, which will require us to reduce spending across all areas of our budget. The College can get through this crisis and come out stronger, if we work together towards a common goal – preserving programs critical for our students that lead to graduation and completion, and jobs through our Career Technical Education and Workforce Development Programs. However, we will not be able to sustain and support critical programs if we do not work together to (1) successfully advocate for funding for the College; and (2) reduce expenses, including salaries and benefits.

To maintain the class schedule for FY20/21 at the current level (which is a significant reduction from the last two years and has already resulted in faculty losing their jobs), I am recommending that we ALL make temporary sacrifices to preserve programs critical to our students and our community.  I will be working with each of the employee group leaders during the next two weeks to achieve this goal.  I recognize that this takes us backwards after years of working towards competitive salaries and benefits for all College employees, but I believe it’s the right thing to do - to preserve our educational programs and create the foundation for long-term fiscal sustainability.  I do not take this recommendation lightly and have directed that all non-personnel spending also be reduced. Also, the Trustees and I remain committed to advocate for funding for our College.

May 28 Board of Trustees Meeting

Yesterday evening, the Board of Trustees voted to approve the PGC Budget Committee, PGC, and Board Budget and Audit Committee’s recommendation to relocate all classes from Fort Mason to Ocean Campus and other 91����¥ Centers by September 2020. This was a truly difficult decision, but one that had to be made to help ensure the financial health and stability of the College. We will be offering this coursework at different center locations, and encourage you to keep checking the schedule for available classes.

R2C Task Force

The R2C Task Force is making significant process to finalize plans to slowly reopen college buildings this summer, but only if we can keep our employees safe. Early next week, Institutional Research and Human Resources will share results from the 91����¥ Employee Survey.

Employee Resources: Employee Assistance Program

This is a very, very challenging time, which is why I want to highlight the free counseling services available through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). As City College employees, you may be eligible to receive free, confidential counseling with a licensed therapist. You can learn more about this program on the 91����¥ website or on the , and information for the 24-hour helpline is available . Whether it is through EAP or other resources such as friends or family – please do not hesitate to reach out. We’re all in this together.

I continue to be humbled daily by the dedication and passion demonstrated by everyone in our community.  You are truly inspirational, thank you for all you continue to do for our students, our community, and each other.

In Gratitude,

Dianna

Dianna R. Gonzales
Interim Chancellor
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