City Government

OP-ED: Why Enroll at CCSF in the Middle of the Crisis?

Published

13 years ago

July 31, 2013

The news that the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges has decided to terminate accreditation for City College of San Francisco in July 2014 may make some people hesitate to enroll in Fall 2013 classes.

They may fear that their classes won’t transfer and they will be left high and dry in the middle of progress toward a degree or certificate.

City College supporters are saying the opposite: the college is still accredited, classes will transfer, and enrolling will actually help keep CCSF alive.

Why is this?

The answer: Enrollment is the basis for bringing in state funding. When enrollment, drops, state funding drops. To keep state funding up and keep CCSF standing when this crisis has cleared, City College supporters urge people to enroll.

Tuition, at $46 per credit, does not cover the real cost of an education at City College. What a student pays per 3-credit course covers about the price of one day’s work for a single City College non-teaching employee.

Some of the rest of the cost of education comes from local property taxes, the special parcel tax, grants and borrowed money from bonds. However, over half of the cost of a City College education comes from state funding.

Enrollment is measured in Full Time Equivalent Students, or FTES, which means 15 credits per semester or 30 credits per year. Every FTES brings in about $5,000 to the college. Every time a student pays $138 for a 3-credit class, the state kicks in $167.

During the last year, total enrollment at CCSF has dropped 15 percent, from about 30,000 FTES to 25,500 FTES. (The overall headcount figures, which include students who may be taking only one or two classes, are 105,000 and 85,000.)

This drop has cost CCSF about $5.5 million for the 2012-2013 school year out of a total budget of $150 million. Since the funding rate for one year is applied to the funds received for the next year, state funding for 2013-2014 will be even less.

When state funding drops, faculty and staff get laid off, class size expands, more classes get cut, and whole programs may disappear. Once classes, and especially whole programs, are gone, they are very difficult to resurrect.

The faculty and staff people go elsewhere and find other jobs. Students leave for other schools and/or give up their education. The years of work that went into the creation of classes and programs can’t be done again.

You do not have to live in San Francisco to attend City College. Many people come from down the peninsula and across the Bay. Non-credit classes, which also capture state funding but at a different rate, are free.

City College will survive in some form. What form it survives in will depend on decisions made during the upcoming months. The public can influence these decisions in many ways. One of the most effective right now is to enroll in classes.

Helena Worthen and Joe Berry can be reached at Worthenberry@yahoo.com.

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IN MEMORIAM: Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73

Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73 Caption: Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo. Special to The Post Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love i

Published

7 days ago

June 17, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love in the comfort of her home. To her children, she was royalty, grace, strength, and unconditional love embodied.

Debra Diane Edgar was born on May 28, 1952, in San Francisco, California, to Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar. She was raised alongside her younger brother, Charles Edgar Jr., affectionately known as “Little Brother” or “Lil Bruh.” She also shared close bonds with her older siblings Carol Edgar-Lang, Maryann Edgar Calloway, and Lonnie Lewis Sr.

A proud product of San Francisco’s historic Fillmore District, Debra attended Andrew Jackson Elementary School, where she met her lifelong best friend and adopted sister, Lynn Green, in the fifth grade. She later attended Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High School and Thomas Jefferson High School.

Debra’s mother transitioned when she was only 17 years old, and her father transitioned when she was 23. Despite these profound losses, Debra remained grounded through the love and support of extended family and lifelong family friends,

In 1971, she married Harold King. On Sept. 24, 1972, they welcomed their first son, Dajuan Artese King, affectionately called “Pop” or “Poppa.” On Aug. 5, 1976, they welcomed their second son, Dante Dupree King, affectionately called “Tay” or “Taboocoo the Baby.”

After her divorce in 1982, Debra assumed full responsibility for raising her sons.

She supported Dajuan’s passion for football by purchasing sports equipment and attending games faithfully. She supported Dante’s love of music by enrolling him in the San Francisco Boys Choir, Oakland Boys Choir, and the Castlemont Castleers.

Professionally, Debra built an exceptional career. She worked at Blue Shield of California from 1973 until 1994, earning multiple promotions.

She later joined the Oakland Unified School District, initially in a temporary role before being promoted into management within the Labor Relations Department. She retired from OUSD in 2015 after years of distinguished service. During her years at OUSD, she built meaningful friendships with her colleagues.

Faith was central to Debra’s life. During the 1980s, following personal hardship, she joined Love Center Church under the leadership of Bishop Walter Hawkins, where she brought her children regularly. She later became a member of Triumphant: A Church Without Walls Ministries under Pastor Dr. Larry Short, who became a beloved spiritual mentor.

After Triumphant closed in 1992, Debra joined Cosmopolitan Baptist Church in Oakland under the leadership of Pastor Larry Ashley, where she remained for the rest of her life.

At Cosmopolitan, she worked in numerous ministries. She served on the usher board, sang in the choir, participated in the AIDS ministry during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, helped feed and support unhoused community members, and mentored and supported a group of young girls.

After retirement, she cared for older adults in her church community, driving them to appointments, cleaning their homes, managing finances, preparing meals, and helping families navigate funeral arrangements after loved ones transitioned.

Even while battling Stage 4 cancer herself, she continued caring for others.

Debra was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar; her brothers, Lonnie Lewis Sr. and Charles Edgar Jr.; her sisters, Maryann Edgar Calloway and Victoria Stephenson Knight; and her adopted mother, Clara Oliver.

She leaves to cherish her memory her beloved sons, Dajuan King and Dante King; grandson, Tiyler Dajuan Artese King; sister, Carol Edgar-Lang; goddaughters Monique Belle and Ricketa Matthews Jones (Leonard); daughter-in-love Quiona Sullivan; son-in-love Marcel Walker; sister-in-law Delores Lewis; adopted sisters and lifelong friends Lynn Green, Barbara Stephenson Hill, and Sarah Fine; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, great-nieces, great-nephews, extended family members, her church family and dear friends.