Board extends CCSF special trustee

The California Community Colleges Board of Governors voted Monday to extend the appointment of a special trustee to oversee the City College of San Francisco, inciting resistance from the California Federation of Teachers.

According to CFT representatives, this decision reneges on the previous deal to move authority over to locally elected officials.

CFT President Joshua Pechthalt said in a statement:

“The continued appointment of a Special Trustee to oversee City College of San Francisco flies in the face of a democratic process. … The people of San Francisco elected the Board of Trustees to govern City College, and anything that takes that power away from the people and their elected representatives is an insult… The people of San Francisco should decide who governs the college, not an appointed body.”

According to the CFT, a Special Trustee was first appointed to oversee the City College of San Francisco in 2013, when the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges nearly revoked City College of San Francisco’s accreditation, until a Superior Court judge ruled the action against the law.

American Federation of Teachers 2121 President Tim Killikelly said in a statement:

“It’s been over two years now and local control needs to be returned to the democratically elected board. … The Board of Governors needs to shift its focus to the real problem at hand-the ACCJC-and find real solutions to the continuing accreditation nightmare for all the community colleges in California.”

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