Education:
San Francisco City College Spends 92 Percent of Budget on Staff Salaries and Benefits; May Lose Accreditation

City College of San Francisco is spending 92 percent of its annual income on salaries and benefits for employees, according to a study by the Center for Investigative Reporting. In addition, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior College Colleges has threatened to pull the college's accreditation if it does not make critical improvements to its finances, planning, assessment of student learning and more.

Colleges must be accredited in order for students to obtain federal financial aid; without that ability, City College would be all but forced to close.

David Wolf, former executive director of the accrediting commission, said: "There's everything wrong with 92 percent going to salaries and benefits. You can't run a coherent college spending your money that way."

Foes of the governor's tax initiative can be expected to use this example to argue that the additional tax revenue would go on the collective bargaining table, and most would be used to enhance salaries and benefits of existing staff, with little improvement in education.

August 10, 2012
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