Lurie budget would cut City College Free City cash grants by 30%

San Francisco’s free-college promise is heading into the budget fight over whether low-income students can afford to stay enrolled. Mayor Daniel Lurie’s proposed June 1 budget would cut Free City cash grants by 30 percent, from $9.3 million to $6.4 million, shrinking the aid that helps City College of San Francisco students pay for housing, food and books.

The cut goes after the part of Free City that sits beside the tuition waiver, not the waiver itself. City College describes Free City as free tuition for all San Francisco residents, regardless of income, but the cash grants have been the piece meant to keep working students in class when rent, groceries and textbooks pile up. About 6,000 low-income students benefited from the grants last year.

That distinction has made the reduction especially bitter for students and advocates who say the city is still branding City College as free while weakening the support that makes free enrollment realistic. The Free City annual report for 2023-24 describes the program as a collaboration between the City and County of San Francisco and City College of San Francisco, designed to make postsecondary education attainable in one of the most expensive regions of the United States.

The political roots of the program run deep in San Francisco. Jane Kim first proposed free City College in April 2016. Kim and then-Mayor Ed Lee later announced the free-tuition deal on Feb. 6, 2017, and the arrangement took effect for the fall 2017 term. What began as a citywide push to open the doors of higher education has become one of the most visible symbols of San Francisco’s public commitment to working-class students.

Now that symbol is colliding with a broader fiscal crisis. The city faces a projected $634 million shortfall over the next two fiscal years, and Lurie has told departments to find at least $400 million in savings through layoffs, program cuts and personnel reductions. That pressure is pushing more programs into the crosshairs, including one that students and alumni have treated as a lifeline.

At a May hearing held by Supervisor Connie Chan, community members, students and staff urged the Board of Supervisors to stop the cuts. Critics argue the reduction could violate a longstanding memorandum of understanding between the city and City College, and they warn that even a modest loss of aid can force students to cut classes, work more hours or leave school before finishing.