Fresno City College may cut student bus program. Here’s why Fresno City Council stepped in
The Fresno City Council unanimously passed a resolution Thursday to put pressure on officials at Fresno City College’s parent district to fund a bus pass program used by thousands of students.
The State Center Community College District program that serves about 8,000 students at the McKinley and Blackstone avenues campus, as well as other locations, is set to end in May after the $300,000 that paid for it annually was reprogrammed for parking lot maintenance.
The resolution was sponsored by Councilmember Esmeralda Soria.
“This is beyond just Fresno City College,” she said on Thursday. “It impacts the entire community college district. It impacts also Fresno Unified and Fresno State because of the partnerships that we have built over the last couple years.”
The State Center Community College District Board of Trustees have said they were caught off guard by the change in funding for the bus program. The decision was made by district administrators without a board vote, according to Fresno City College President Carole Goldsmith.
The issue came before the board only after a student brought it up publicly.
The program is particularly popular with students of color, who make up the largest portion of riders. About 56% of students who use the program are Hispanic, 17% are African-American, and 14% are white, according to numbers from a district study.
The bus has been used more than 1 million times by students since the program began in August 2017. The program started as a pilot and had been extended each of the past two years at a cost of about $300,000 per year, according to school officials.
The vote on Thursday was not necessary, according to Gregory Barfield, director of Fresno’s Department of Transportation. He said the administration has already begun to work with the school district to find a solution.
“I really don’t need a resolution,” he said. “I need (the council’s) support to talk to (their) elected counterparts at the (district) to help them be motivated.”
City officials say the district and the city have agreed to extend the program past May and through the summer semester until a permanent solution can be found.
Councilmember Luis Chavez said he would be open to putting city dollars into funding the program, noting city leaders talk so often about helping those in poverty to find a way out. Councilmember Garry Bredefeld said he’d be hesitant to fund a program that was in trouble through no fault of the city.
By all accounts, the members of the council agreed the affordable busing program was important enough to save.
Councilmember Miguel Arias, a former member of the college school board, noted that students already pay tuition fees that cover more than just their education.
“This isn’t our fault. This responsibility and failure squarely sits at the door of the chancellor of state center,” he said.
Solutions
The City Council is just one agency looking for solutions. The Fresno City College Associated Student Government voted Tuesday to ask students to cast ballots on paying up to $10 each semester to support the busing program.
Multiple members of the State Center Community College District board have said they are looking into ways AB 617 money — funding from a bill to reduce air pollution — could be used to pay for the bus program.
Trustee Eric Payne tweeted his support of the City Council decision on Thursday.
“I want to thank the city of Fresno for their collaborative approach to problem solving this important issue,” he tweeted. “I can assure you our executive board leadership are on the (front lines) of problem solving this issue with our Chancellor (Paul Parnell), (President Carole Goldsmith), (Vice Chancellor Christine Miktarian Taylor) and community partners.”
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 3:29 PM.
