San Francisco is rolling out an ambitious program that’s expected to allow thousands of students living in the city to attend City College of San Francisco for free beginning this fall.
Mayor Ed Lee called it a “bold" plan at Monday’s press conference. Under the agreement, the city would put up $5.4 million annually to cover the tuition for students at $46 per credit. California residents living in San Francisco for at least one year would be covered.
More than $3 million of that funding would also help with certain expenses, such as textbooks and transportation, for low-income students whose fees are already waived by the state. That pencils out to $250 a semester for this group of full-time students and $100 for those attending part time.
The money to pay for the new program will come from the voter-approved Proposition W, which imposes a transfer tax on properties selling for more than $5 million.
San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim spearheaded that measure as a way to fund the free tuition plan.