A Grain of Salt
By Patrick Tamayo
It appears that whoever is running the school has managed to keep it open for at least another semester.
Apparently bringing in Art Tyler and his sketchy past may not have been the best decision, but our school leaders aren’t exactly known for making the best decisions.
Tyler’s abrupt departure coincidentally occurred at the same time the San Francisco Chronicle was looking into spending and travel.
Had anyone bothered to check his time in Houston, first class travel invoices from places like Four Seasons hotels may have raised some sort of flag, but instead he was awarded an exuberant salary and given the reigns to a college on the verge of being shut down.
Our accreditation issues still didn’t prevent shoddy record keeping as our former President Virginia Parras spent thousands on fancy meals that the college reimbursed her for. The desks in the Arts Extension building are barely able to stand, but let’s pay for our president’s elegant palate. Makes sense.
Do we even have to mention that Tyler, who worked with her in Houston hired Parras? Yet we’re all dumbfounded at the state our school is in.
The school alleges there is no money for faculty but paid a special trustee to drive in from Tahoe as well as provided a monthly housing allowance. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great deal for Guy Lease, but it just leaves a bad taste in the mouths of teachers and students who are worried about what their future holds, even if his appointment was forced upon the school by the state.
Like most issues where there is no simple solution, how long before people stop caring? Eventually staff, just like students, will be forced to look elsewhere for employment.
The constant fear of the school closing, rising costs of living and zero job security does little to help anyone.
As the school continues to experience low enrollment and classes continue to be cut, students and faculty will have extremely difficult choices to make.
The school has problems at every level and there is not any one person that will magically appear to save the day regardless of the salary or perks that come along with their job.
We are well past the point of finding our unicorn to get us out of the hole the school finds itself in.
While City College is still a great institution with top of the line instructors but it is on a dangerous path if our current leaders are unable to right the wrongs of past decision makers.
Doubtful, but maybe once Mayor Ed Lee has finished selling the City out to the NFL, he can put his government’s corruption and bribery worries to the side and look into the shenanigans still going on at our school.
Here’s to one more semester of wondering what’s going to happen to our school.
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