A hearing urged the Board of Supervisors to stop a proposed 30% reduction to Free City Cash Grants in Mayor Daniel Lurie’s budget proposal due June 1. The cash grants program provides low-income City College students with funds matching $46-per-credit fees already covered by the state, for expenses such as housing, food, and books. Funding would drop from $9.3 million to $6.4 million, affecting about 6,000 students. The proposed cuts would not change the main Free City program but would reduce the cash grants component. The cuts are described as potentially violating a longstanding Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the school. Students, alumni, and staff asked the Budget and Appropriations Committee to protect full funding, noting the program’s importance for staying enrolled.
"Mayor Daniel Lurie’s new budget proposal, due June 1, will include a 30% cut to Free City Cash Grants, a component of City College’s “Free City program.” The cash grants program provides low-income City College students with funds matching their $46-per-credit fees, which the state had already covered, for expenses like housing, food, and books. Lurie’s proposed cuts would not impact the main Free City program, but would reduce funding for cash grants from $9.3 million to $6.4 million."
"The cash grants program, which benefitted 6,000 low-income students last year, would violate a longstanding Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the school. Former Supervisor Jane Kim introduced the proposal to create the Free City program back in 2016, which was approved in February 2017 by former Mayor Ed Lee. At the hearing Wednesday, dozens of students, alumni, and staff urged the Board of Supervisors Budget and Appropriations Committee to protect the full funding for the program, which has been under threat for at least the past two years."
"“Free City is the reason I can afford to attend City College,” said Angelica Campos, a student-elected representative on the College’s Board of Trustees, speaking to 48 Hills. “I am working, studying, and building a life in San Francisco, and even small costs can decide whether I can stay enrolled or need to drop out. These cuts tell students like me that our education is optional. But my future is not optional.”"
#san-francisco-budget #city-college-of-san-francisco #free-city-program #low-income-students #education-funding
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