Stay the course

City College of San Francisco was in dire straits the last time John Rizzo, Brigitte Davila and Thea Selby were on the ballot for its Board of Trustees in 2014. The school was in a desperate fight to extend its accreditation, the trustees had no duties and the board had not met in the previous year.

“I came on the board because I was terrified,” said Selby. “I thought we were losing City College.”

Four years later, the three are up for re-election, and City College has maintained its accreditation and has a new chancellor, growing enrollment and funding from a voter-approved ballot measure to provide free tuition for two years.

“We’re through our survival mode,” said Davila. “We are in thrive mode.”

It wasn’t easy getting there. As Rizzo noted, the board had to show its willingness to take tough votes on austerity measures “with a roomful of people yelling at us telling us not to do it.”

No question, the school still has its challenges, but its chances of meeting them are enhanced by having a board that is working well together. That camaraderie was evident in a candidate forum before our editorial board last week in which the three incumbents outlined their complementary focuses. Rizzo is the fiscal hawk, Selby pushes for innovations to enhance enrollment and Davila champions opportunities for first-generation students, including from immigrant families.

The lone challenger in the race, nonprofit director Victor Olivieri, certainly demonstrated that he has done his homework about City College. A self-described wonk, Olivieri offered a deep platform of ideas that includes ways to attract new students and extend the pilot program for free tuition.

At this point, however, San Francisco should stay the course with a board that has the school going in the right direction. We endorse Rizzo, Davila and Selby.