Those running San Fran have proven once again they are economic illiterates. Those living in San Fran are less smart than the elected officials. The city is going to off “free” college education. No the professors will continue to be paid, the facilities will be maintained, etc. So how can the city afford to give away a product for free—by stealing from others.
“Mayor Ed Lee will spend $5.4 million on free tuition as well as school expenses for low-income students in the upcoming school year under the agreement, which the mayor and Supervisor Jane Kim reached following months of back-and-forth.
The funding will cover the cost of tuition for undocumented San Francisco residents who graduated from high school in California, and undocumented residents who have lived in the state for more than a year.”
Those paying for these are making charitable contributions—via higher taxes. This is why the middle class have left San Fran—they can no longer afford the high taxes to pay for the freebies given to illegal aliens and others. Can you afford it?
by Mike Lewis, from The Hill
Free City College deal leaves out undocumented SF residents
By Michael Barba, SF Examiner, 2/7/17
City officials have promised free tuition for San Francisco residents at City College of San Francisco next semester after much negotiation, but some are still concerned the agreement announced Monday leaves out certain residents who are undocumented.
Mayor Ed Lee will spend $5.4 million on free tuition as well as school expenses for low-income students in the upcoming school year under the agreement, which the mayor and Supervisor Jane Kim reached following months of back-and-forth.
The funding will cover the cost of tuition for undocumented San Francisco residents who graduated from high school in California, and undocumented residents who have lived in the state for more than a year.
CCSF Trustee John Rizzo said he will not support the program Thursday at the Board of Trustees meeting because it excludes undocumented students, some of whom are the “poorest students that we have.”
“We made a commitment as a Board of Trustees in December to protect and serve all of our students, including every single undocumented student,” Rizzo said. “This deal, from how it looks right now, does not do that. That is a problem.”
The news comes at a time when the mayor and city officials have pledged to keep San Francisco a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants despite threats from President Donald Trump. The president is expected to cut the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which temporarily exempts undocumented students from deportation.
“Particularly in the age of Trump, [we] need to be looking at ways to protect our undocumented students,” said Trustee Rafael Mandelman.
Still, the mayor called the agreement “bold and visionary” at a news conference Monday.
“We’re going to need that spirit as we face challenges on the regional front, and certainly on the national front,” Lee said.
The agreement covers in-state tuition costs of $46 per unit for students regardless of immigration status, rather than the $234 per unit cost of out-of-state tuition for international students like some undocumented immigrants who are not year-long residents.
It’s unclear how many undocumented students currently pay the higher fees since CCSF does not collect information on immigration status.
Hydra Mendoza-McDonnell, the mayor’s education advisor, said the mayor will consider funding the higher fees once the number is known.
“Then we can make some better decisions about covering them because they’re the kind of students that we would want to support,” Mendoza-McDonnell said. “Until we know what that number is, which again City College can’t tell us, then we’re not going to include it in the program.”
Funding all of the international students, including wealthy students who are from other countries, would cost San Francisco $4 million a year, according to Mendoza-McDonnell.
Ivy Lee, Kim’s legislative aide, questioned the number of undocumented students who could afford out-of-state tuition fees and said she expects the number to be “astonishingly small.”
CCSF will begin collecting more information from students next school year.
Interim Chancellor Susan Lamb said the agreement will cover tuition for undocumented students who are exempt from out-of-state costs under Assembly Bill 540. There are about 600 students at CCSF under the state law currently.
Lamb also said DACA students, who entered the country illegally at a young age, will also receive free tuition if they have been in California for a year.
“We’re very excited about those two,” said Lamb, who is concerned with the amount of time she has to roll out the effort.
Student registration begins at CCSF at the end of March.
While disappointed that there are ineligible students, CCSF Trustee Tom Temprano said there is room for the program to grow in the coming years.
“From the college’s perspective, we should be committed and will be committed to serving the needs of those undocumented students who aren’t currently eligible,” Temprano said. “In an ideal world we would be able to serve every single student.”
The agreement was also criticized for falling short of the funding expected for low-income students, who will receive just $200 and $500 grants next school year rather than $1,000 as initially proposed.
The mayor will spend $2.1 million on tuition and $3.3 million on student expenses annually over the next two years. Overall, he agreed to spend $1.1 million more a year than he previously said in December he would spend on the effort.
Kim and advocates had pressured the mayor to spend $9 million on the effort next semester alone.
The agreement still has to be approved by the Board of Trustees, which will review it at their meeting Thursday before approving a Memorandum of Understanding between the college and city at a later date.
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