League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
San Francisco County, CA November 3, 2015 Election
	Alex Randolph Answers Questions Candidate for Member, Community College Board; City of San Francisco

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of San Francisco and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What do you see as the biggest issue facing community colleges? What would you do to handle it?

As a Trustee, I work hard to give our administrators, faculty, staff, and students the tools and resources to improve City College in preparation for the final accreditation commissions visit. However, City College can't solve this accreditation crisis by itself. I am building stronger relationships with the non-profit and business community to continue City College's history of strong partnerships throughout the City.

The City College community has done an incredible job already addressing some of the concerns and also pushing back where the commission's accreditation report went too far.

City College's accreditation troubles and funding cuts have created budget challenges. Strengthening our funding sources and building partnerships with city agencies, businesses, and nonprofit groups, are my top priorities. From better managing voter-approved bonds for projects and improvements to creating a sustainable financial plan, I will continue to ensure that CCSF remains a resource for students of all backgrounds.

2. What would you do to address the decrease in the number of students at City College over the past few years?

Serving on CCSF's Marketing and Enrollment Committee, I fight everyday to increase enrollment by expanding City College's visibility throughout San Francisco. The current City College enrollment rate by SFUSD graduates has declined from 26% to 16% over the past two years whereas no enrollment in any higher education pathway has increased from 15% to 25%.

Black and hispanic student enrollment has declined tremendously. As a young African-American public official I have the unique ability to connect with these students on a direct personal level and show them through the lens of my own educational path that City College is a critical pathway to a better life. It is hard to have a dream of a better life if you don't know that this future even exists.

I am proud of the incredible diversity of students at City College that reflect many ages, race, and ethnic backgrounds. We can continue building that by increasing City College outreach for underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM.) It is important that we strengthen our partnership with the School District and conduct this outreach to schools well in advance of students' graduation.

As the cost of housing and living in the Bay Area is increasing, it becomes even more important to provide affordable access to education and economic opportunity in high demand career fields like healthcare and technology. For example, within the next five years, there will be over 1 million unfilled jobs for students with a computer science degree, one of the highest paying career fields. I am excited that the SF Unified School District has started to make computer science classes a fundamental part of the curriculum, and City College should partner on providing better pathways to tech jobs, especially for the Latino community and other underrepresented minority groups.

I also support programs like CityBuild that provide skills training for union jobs to promote the participation of disadvantaged San Francisco residents in apprenticeship positions, and pathways into union apprenticeship programs. As a result of the project, eight journey-level jobs and two apprentice jobs were created; of whom six were local SF residents. More programs like this will ensure City College is able to provide relevant courses that attract students and provides more access and opportunity to education. To do so we need to bring the relevant organizations, community partners, and employers on the table to provide insight into the program design. These types of partnerships will be the solution to maintaining empowering students to not only pursue a rewarding career, but do it here in San Francisco.

3. What are your qualifications for office?

City College is at a critical juncture. As the newest member of your Board of Trustees, I am working tirelessly for our students to fix our biggest challenges.

From working with Mayor Gavin Newsom to my appointment in President Barack Obama's administration, it has been my duty to make government work better for people. Now, I'm proud to continue that mission serving students looking for a path to a better life through City College.

The Community College Board's recently restored powers are proof that we're improving. But we have more work to do. My priorities for City College are to:
1. Ensure City College stays accredited by building strong city partnerships,
2. Increase enrollment by conducting grassroots outreach to our communities, and
3. Strengthen funding by creating a sustainable financial plan.

City College's decreasing enrollment is especially pronounced among communities of color. As a young African-American product of community college, my own educational journey is a powerful example for struggling students on what City College can do for them.

Please vote for me to continue this fight for our San Francisco students as your Community College Board Trustee.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. The answer to each question should be limited to 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 6, 2015 23:24
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