San Francisco City Higher trustees appeared grateful, albeit somber, last night as they listened to a lengthy cess of the college district's finances and heard tough recommendations on how to stave off insolvency and go on from losing its accreditation.

"Thank you for an extremely comprehensive and extremely depressing report," said trustee Rodrigo Santos, just one-half-heartedly in jest.

In a 150-page report, the Financial Crunch and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) warned that CCSF is in "a perilous fiscal position," facing a deficit every bit big as $27.eight meg by

FCMAT officials, from left, Roy Stutzman, Michelle Plumbtree and Michael Hill listen to comments from college trustees during their presentation Tuesday night.

FCMAT officials, from left, Roy Stutzman, Michelle Plumbtree, and Michael Colina heed to comments from higher trustees during their presentation Tuesday dark.

2014-xv if Proposition xxx, Gov. Jerry Brown's school funding tax initiative, doesn't pass in November. (Go here to read an article on the report itself). Merely at Tuesday dark's special meeting, FCMAT analysts reassured the Board, and nigh 50 faculty and staff members filling the room, that information technology's not too late to brand changes.

"The question has come to u.s.a. quite often: 'Tin can San Francisco get through this?'" acknowledged Michelle Plumbtree, primary management annotator at FCMAT. "Absolutely, simply it is non going to exist easy and you're going to have to brand some actually really difficult decisions."

At the top of that listing is staff. City College goes above and beyond comparable schools in its level of full- and function-fourth dimension faculty. The college has nearly 24 regular tenured faculty per ane g students; almost double the rates of Santa Monica and Mt. San Antonio customs higher districts in Southern California. As a issue, CCSF spends about $17 million more a year on academic salaries.

"When nosotros talk about the magnitude and size of some of your numbers, touching personnel is probably a reality that you just have to admit," FCMAT consultant Michael Colina advised the Board.

Staff comparison between City College and 5 other schools. Source: FCMAT. (Click to enlarge)

FCMAT is an independent, quasi-public agency that provides fiscal assistance to One thousand-12 schools and community colleges. The Community College Chancellor'south Office hired the agency to review City College'southward finances after the Accrediting Committee for Customs and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) put the school on its "show crusade" list, the most astringent sanction next to having its accreditation terminated.

Although the FCMAT written report is split up from the accreditation commission's work, there is a "nexus between the two," said FCMAT's CEO Joel Montero. In issuing a "show cause" social club, the accrediting commission wants colleges to demonstrate that they're looking at all options, because all the data available to them, and moving forwards to solve their problems.

"The FCMAT report is the tool; it shows us how nosotros accost the accrediting commission'due south concerns," said John Rizzo, president of the City College Board of Trustees. "They don't actually requite us the how in the [accrediting commission] written report; they but say this is what y'all have to exercise. So this is a companion piece. Information technology tells the states what specifically to look at. Information technology gives us numbers and metrics to judge by. Information technology's a very useful tool for the states."

Karen Saginor, CCSF Bookish Senate President

The Academic Senate doesn't share that enthusiasm. Some of the recommendations are proficient, agreed Senate President Karen Saginor, just others are based on incomplete information. In particular, she disputes the department of the report that describes how section chairs have too much authority, even over deans, and how that leads to fragmented decision making. Saginor said FCMAT interviews were too narrowly skewed toward administrators.

"That'southward one where I felt they didn't have plenty information, they didn't have precise information and they didn't have a complete gear up of perspectives on what they presented," Sagnior argued.

At that place were some murmurings among kinesthesia members at the meeting that they are being blamed for the fiscal problems that nearly all tied to staffing levels, salaries, and benefits. But FCMAT's Montero said the report never makes that argument.

"Labor is not the villain," said Montero. "This has been a long time coming. This has been the result of years and years and years of collective bargaining negotiations wherein there was an agreement and somebody had to say, 'Yes.'"

Metropolis Higher has until October xv to present the accrediting commission with its plan to regain financial basis, improve the quality of instruction and pupil success, and outline steps to a more coordinated governance system.

The Lath of Trustees will discuss its proposals at another special meeting side by side Th, and expects at least i fellow member of the accreditation commission to be on hand to provide feedback.

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