Tell San Francisco Supervisors: Make City College Free

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors

Let's make City College FREE for San Franciscans and those who work in our City! A broad-based coalition of student, labor and community organizations and City leaders are developing a program to make community college free again - like it was before 1984. Rather than downsizing City College of San Francisco, this plan will increase access to educational opportunities.

Free City will:

  • Cover enrollment fees for all City College of San Francisco students who live or work at least half-time in San Francisco.
  • Provide students already receiving aid with additional support to offset educational costs such as textbooks and transportation.
  • Serve a diverse range of students and expand access to higher education for everyone.
  • Create a model of free higher education that can be replicated nationally.

Free City will be publicly funded and cost San Francisco less than $13 million annually, and it could be funded by Jane Kim’s newly proposed luxury tax on mansions. City College is an important part of the San Francisco economy as it provides over $300 million in value to the city annually. Educating our present and future is a public responsibility—we will fulfill our promise to the people of our city!

To: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors
From: [Your Name]

As a community member concerned about the increasing cost of higher education, I urge you to vote for Supervisor Jane Kim's legislation to create the Free City program which will provide free tuition and additional economic support as needed for all City College students who live or work at least half-time in San Francisco.

City College serves a diverse range of students: workers in need of training and re-training, low-income and immigrant communities, veterans and the disabled, lifelong learners, first-generation college attendees, full- and part-time students in need of second—and third—chances, as well as students transferring to four-year institutions.

The majority of CCSF students qualify for financial aid, but in an era of skyrocketing student debt in one of the most expensive cities in the world, students often face choices between enrollment and rent, between textbooks and groceries. We don’t want students to have to weigh those tradeoffs. San Francisco has the ability and responsibility to provide the economic support these students need to succeed, recognizing that a more educated populace benefits all our communities.

I urge you to support the legislation creating the Free City program and annual funding of approximately $13 million to expand access to higher education for everyone.