City College of San Francisco’s dire financial and accreditation straights get another parsing today, this time by the Chronicle’s Nanette Asimov, who focuses on a state audit’s key finding as to why the college is nearly bankrupt: it employs almost twice as many faculty as similar colleges and pays them more.
On the surface, that may sound good, but here’s an excerpt from the piece, with quotes from the audit, that helps put things in perspective:
Employees consistently told the analysts that City College operates "based on power, influence and political influences rather than reason, logic and fairness," according to the report. "The emphasis has been on keeping people employed and ensuring that they receive benefits, which is a positive goal but should not usurp the purpose of any college district, which is to serve students."