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With support from communities like North Fair Oaks, students in the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) may soon see free or reduced tuition and other financial aid.
During their March 24 meeting, the North Fair Oaks Community Council (NFOCC) voted unanimously, with two council members absent, to send a letter to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, asking them to adopt a resolution in support of Senate Bill 893.
Introduced by State Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, in January, with support from Assembly members Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, and Kevin Mullin, the bill would allow the SMCCCD to charge students a lower enrollment fee than that mandated by state law. Currently, all community colleges statewide are required to charge students an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester.
“SB 893’s flexibility to use unrestricted general fund dollars to support students will have significant impacts throughout the community and will allow the district to bridge inequities throughout San Mateo County by making college more accessible and affordable for students, particularly those in marginalized and underrepresented communities,” read the letter, which was signed by NFOCC Chair Brooks Esser.
The letter cited SMCCCD’s existing Promise Scholars Program, which was launched in 2017 to provide financial aid and other resources to a select number of students. Under existing state law, however, SMCCCD is only able to fund 2,000 of the 6,000 eligible students, even though more funding is available through the program.
John Pimental, member of the SMCCCD Board of Trustees, spoke to the council during a March 17 study session, urging them to exercise their power as an advisory body to the County Board of Supervisors. He criticized the existing state law for having a broad, damaging impact on education access, particularly in high-cost areas like San Mateo County.
“The net effect of this is that we have, now, a barrier to participation in the community colleges,” Pimental told the NFOCC. “For a fulltime student, that $46 per unit is almost $1,500 a year, and that’s before you add in the other costs necessary to attend college, such as books, technology, transportation, rent and food and insurance. As a result, in our high-cost area, attending Cañada College can cost over $15,000 per year for a student who’s living independently.”
Two student council members, Gabriela Ake and Xitlali Curincita, also spoke during the study session in support of the letter.
“I’ve had the privilege of benefiting from free tuition to attend Cañada College,” Curincita said. Instead of facing financial anxiety, she described feeling “overwhelmed with the excitement and the joy” of attending college as a first-generation student. “The real question is: Why can’t it be like this for every student?”
Council member Ever Rodriguez, who said he attended Cañada College when the cost of enrollment was only $6 per unit, expressed full support for the letter
“It is certainly shocking to hear that a unit has gone up to $46,” he said. “Particularly considering that the salaries for workers have not gone up that much.”
Rodriguez asked if the bill would encourage students from other regions to relocate to take advantage of the free or reduced tuition, but Pimentel said it only applied to county residents. And by taking money directly from local taxpayers, he said the bill wouldn’t have any impact on state finances or other districts outside the county.
“We see this as an opportunity for the people who've enjoyed the increase in land values and who are paying the property taxes to support economic accessibility and equity for those who don't have the enjoyment of those high property values,” he told the council.
“So in a way, we're trying to get the landowners to make community college free.”
SB 893 is currently scheduled for a state hearing on April 4.
