San Francisco City College Heads To Court In Showdown With Accrediting Commission
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — A non-jury trial is underway in California Superior Court to determine if an accrediting evaluation of San Francisco City College was unfair or unlawful.
The suit brought by San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, against the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) claims the evaluation of San Francisco City College (CCSF) was unfair and unlawful under state law for business competition.
Alisa Messer, former president of American Federation of Teachers 2121, served as the first witness and said she was shocked to learn that the accrediting team member, Peter Crabtree was married to Commission President Barbara Beno.
"They're not supposed to participate in pillow talk or any other kind of talk and so the fact that these two people are married to each other should just be one of many signs that we have a huge problem with this commission," Messer said.
City College San Francisco Trial Underway To Determine Lawfulness of Accreditation Evaluation
Crabtree was also from the Peralta Community College District, which Messer said stood to benefit from a loss of accreditation from City College of San Francisco.
Attorney's from the ACCJC claim CCSF simply did not meet accrediting standards and had long-standing financial problems dating back to 2006 with retiree and health benefits and increasing unfunded liability.
This trial is expected to last five days.
