President's Report

Kudos to all who participated in making the recent Accreditation visit a success! It was indeed rewarding to make visible the amazing work we do together as we prepare another generation of students to meet the challenges of the future.

Alas, all is not rosy in the world of public education. At our recent CCFT meeting, we heard from CFT colleagues in the Pajaro Valley who are working hard to assure small class sizes and improve teacher salaries, and from teachers in the Greater Santa Cruz Federation who are struggling to get a fair share of the Prop 30 revenues and reverse losses due to furloughs during the recession.

Further north, CFT colleagues are planning a Halloween march to City Hall, proclaiming San Francisco would be Spooky without our City College. This action comes on the heels of devastating sanctions from the ACCJC. “We need Our City College to keep its broad mission and protect educational access for low-income and immigrant communities, veterans, older adults, displaced workers, and so many others. On Halloween, October 31st, we march to deliver several thousand postcards to Mayor Lee. We are asking him to protect all the opportunities that Our City College provides to San Franciscans.” (Alisa Messer, AFT 2121, contact aft@aft2121.org for information).

This year, the state CFT has launched a campaign for Quality Public Education for All. CCFT will participate by sponsoring a Forum on Tuesday, November 12, 2013, 6-8 pm in the Sesnon House, in collaboration with students and with Faculty Senate.

 

by Debora Bone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A panel of faculty will explore what we are doing well, what challenges we are facing, and facilitate discussion to identify strategies that promote access, assure resources and strengthen public education. PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Here at Cabrillo we feel the squeeze as we struggle to offer enough classes to chase enrollment yet lack resources to replace the many classified and contract faculty positions lost in the years of budget cuts. Efforts to maximize revenues put smaller classes (and perhaps even programs) in danger of being cut, and reducing the depth and breadth of offerings damages our ability to meet student needs.

New regulations about repeatability deny students access to deepen their knowledge and skills and limit our ability to generate the revenue necessary to maintain robust programs. Within the college, we are adaptable and strategic as we adjust what we can. Realists, we embark on discussions of “right sizing” the college. Ultimately, to protect our core mission, we will need to mobilize with the communities we serve and assure the political will to fund quality public education at sustainable levels for the long haul. Please join us and encourage your students to come to the Forum in November to discuss these issues and more!