City College Board Confronts $24M Deficit Projection Amid Contractor Racism Claims and Contract Fights

The fall semester's opening meeting of the City College of San Francisco Governing Board became a marathon session that laid bare the institution's central tension: how to survive a looming fiscal cliff without starving the enrollment growth that is the only way out. Trustees heard a sobering multi-year budget forecast, deferred two contentious contracts, and received explosive testimony from Black contractors who say they were racially targeted at a bond-funded construction site in Bayview Hunters Point.

• Budget projections show a $24M structural deficit by 2029-30 as health costs outpace flat revenue, with $47.1M in reserves at risk of being consumed in three years

• Bayview contractors allege racial slurs and police were called when they asked for a business card at the Evans campus construction site

• Board rejects open-ended legal contract with outside law firm AALRR, demanding a not-to-exceed spending cap before approval

• Chancellor Messina receives rolling three-year contract on a 5-2 vote in closed session

• Students, faculty, and labor leaders sound alarm on enrollment crisis, with FTEs down 24% since 2017-18 and neighborhood centers losing classes, counseling, and basic supplies

• HR restructuring draws HIPAA violation warnings as labor groups allege anti-worker practices and pressured retirements

• Special meeting set for Sept. 10 to formally adopt the FY 2026-2027 budget before the Sept. 15 deadline

Vice Chancellor Shannon Carter presented multi-year financial projections that gave the board its starkest picture yet of where City College is headed financially.