Candidate Name: Jill Yee
Phone Number: (415) 290-2121
Web site: jillyee.com
E-mail: jyee4ccsftrustee@gmail.com
How much do you expect to spend in this contest: $40,000
Major Endorsements: Mayor London Breed, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, Ivy Lee, Former CCSF Trustee, United Democratic Club, Edwin M. Lee Democratic Club
Incumbent Board Member whose votes most reflect your values: Bridgette Davila
Incumbent whose votes least reflect your values: Alan Wong
What is your stance on COVID safety at CCSF? CCSF must follow the guidelines from the San Francisco Public Health Department (SFPHD).
Under what circumstances might you support instating a mask or vaccine mandate, or canceling in-person classes? After consultation with SFPHD, the Administration needs to provide a clear directive to students and employees.
What would be the main basis on which you make this decision? (e.g., would it be based on your gut feelings, or whose advice would you listen to?)
The decision would be based on recommendations from SFPHD which would be predicated on the best scientific information available.
2. Why are you running for College Board?
CCSF is currently under “heightened financial monitoring” by the State because of its history of deficit spending and its failure to maintain adequate financial reserves. After years of kicking the can down the road, this past Spring, the Chancellor recommended laying off faculty, support staff and administrators, which the Board approved. This was a decision that was put off for years because the Board and past Chancellors opted to take the path of least resistance and maintain the status quo.
Moving forward, the College needs new leadership that is willing to make decisions based on current enrollment and changing socio-economic realities if we are to rebuild a sustainable college. No longer can we bury our head in the sand and lay our hopes on bailouts to maintain an infrastructure that isn't sustainable. New leadership is needed to reimagine a college which reflects current socio-economic realities and align programs with 21st century careers and jobs.
Just adding more of the same so that faculty can be re-hired does not increase enrollment.
My qualifications are unmatched by any other candidate. I have been a member of the faculty, a Department Chair and Academic Dean. I know the college inside out, I understand the challenges that lie ahead. I am willing to strategically challenge the status quo to put students first.
3. How are you currently involved in the Community College -- or how were you involved in the past?
I have over 40 years of professional experience at CCSF. I taught Psychology for over 25 years, 7 of those years I also was elected Department Chair of Behavioral Sciences and I was Dean of Social Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, Ethnic Studies and Social Justice for 7 years. Because of my institutional knowledge, I am able to navigate the internal politics, the culture and decision- making processes to assess an issue and collaborate with stakeholders to find solutions.
I was also a 1st generation college student at CCSF. It was the only college opportunity available to me and I understand how CCSF can change lives and serve as a spring board for success that extends across generations.
4. What is your stance on public and private partnerships within the college?
As a Dean, I know how private and public partnerships can support programs which lead to innovation and serve as a pipeline for jobs. I supervised the Department of Behavioral Sciences, which established a Social Work Program supported by public and private partnerships in the community.
The Social Work Program partnered with Episcopal Services who used one of their grants to pay for student internships and faculty training. UCSF is in desperate need of Social Workers to address the homeless, drug and mental health problems in San Francisco. UCSF is partnering with the Social Work program to hire graduates.
This is a model that can develop a new stream of funding that doesn't rely on public monies.
5. What is your position on Free City College? How should it be changed, if at all?
I support Free City and believe community college should be accessible to all. What needs to be changed is the fact that students have only 2 weeks to decide to drop a class. After that, they will be responsible for the tuition in full. A hold will be placed on their records until the fees are paid. This means that students are better off getting an F rather than dropping the class. Once a student receives an F, it's very hard to recover.
The 2-week window is not sufficient for students to determine if they will be successful in the class, if the instructor is a good fit, and it doesn't allow for personal emergencies. This needs to be reviewed and addressed.
6. If elected to the Board, how would you ensure that you and the public would receive the college's draft budget with sufficient time to review it thoroughly before adopting it?
The Board of Trustees meeting agenda shall be posted at least 72 hours prior to the meeting time for regular meetings. This is not sufficient time for the Board or the public to dive deep into the budget. I would be willing to propose a change in policy to require the draft budget be provided at least one week prior to the Board meeting.
7. What is your position on selling campus properties?
I am not opposed to selling or leasing campus properties. Most of the Centers are not fully utilized and the cost of supporting them is a drain on the budget. The College needs to consider how to leverage its properties to better serve students and the community. I would recommend the college consider converting property to student and faculty housing.
8. Do you feel there is enough transparency or public disclosure of the Board and the college? How would you change things?
I would like to see stronger leadership which is willing to speak out and present a clear and accurate narrative about the state of CCSF, especially in terms of fiscal matters. There is a lot of misinformation and distortions perpetuated by special interest groups. The Board and Administration's attitude has been to ignore it because they believe it will only flame the fires. But without a counter narrative, the misinformation is given more credence and the public has a skewed understanding of the controversies.
CCSF needs leadership that isn't shy about speaking publicly to provide a more nuanced and accurate representation of the college.
9. Have you attended the Community College Board meeting? Would you change public comment policy at the meetings? If so, how?
I have attended Board meetings for the past 7 years and as Co-Chair of the Administrators Association, I gave monthly reports to the Board.
Public comment is an essential part of the democratic process and it informs the Board of public concerns. It has to be managed in a way that balances the public interests and allows the Board to conduct its business within a practical time frame. Placing time limits on public comments seem reasonable. I would like the Board to consider holding town hall meetings that would be devoted entirely for public comments, with time limits to allow everyone to be heard, but it would not compete with other business.
10. How will you increase quality child care at ALL campuses?
I think there needs to be an assessment of the need for child care at all campuses, staffing requirements and cost before any decisions about this should be made. Child care has to be scaled up, but it needs to be thoughtful and sustainable.
11. How will you work to counter and prevent profiling and police harassment on campus? What is your position on police firearms on campus?
If a student feels they have been profiled or harassed by the police, their complaint should be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated. If the claim is supported, then there needs to be decisive consequences, including termination. I would expect the campus police to be well-trained and required to participate in anti-bias training.
Arming police on campus is a very complex issue. There first needs to be serious conversations about this topic, exploring all the pros and cons. What has happened in the past is conversations become politicized and polarized, thus preventing meaningful dialogue. A clear policy is put on hold to avoid controversies.
The community needs to consider that we now live in a culture where mass shootings at educational institutions is no longer an anomaly. We need to recognize that CCSF has a very challenging student population, many of whom have experienced trauma and struggle with mental illness. After working at CCSF for so many years, I cannot help but wonder if it's just a matter of time when someone will act out on our campus. When the time comes, will CCSF be prepared to respond?
I personally am undecided on whether to arm campus police, but I believe unless we can have open and honest conversations about this issue, we cannot develop a nuanced, thoughtful policy.
12. What is your position on allowing noncitizens the right to vote for College Board and other local elections? Did you take a public position on previous ballot initiatives on the subject?
I support noncitizens voting for College Board because they pay taxes which support community colleges and they should have representation. I did not have an opportunity to take a public stance on this issue, but would not hesitate to make my opinion known.
13. What are your views of transportation and pedestrian safety to, from and around City College campuses? What, if anything, would you change, and how would you go about making those changes?
I support free transportation for students and faculty in order to make education more accessible and encourage drivers to get out of their cars.
I would initiate a college policy that requires all CCSF employees, including Trustees, to participate in anti-bias training. There is often lip service around diversity, but required training is met with resistance and left optional. This should be non-negotiable and made an established policy for all employees passed by the Board.
14. What is your position of military recruiting on campus?
I am neutral on this issue. I'm not opposed to military recruitment on campus because students have a right access information and make up their own minds. I think its infantilizing to assume the college knows what's best for them and need to control the information they are exposed to.
Due Date: Sat, Sep 3, 11:59 pm.
Please submit by email to cc@sfgreens.org. For more information, call Barry Hermanson at 415-255-9494. Please return your answers in plaintext (not HTML, PDF, or Word format), so that we can post all candidates' answers in the same format.
The SF Green Party will invite all candidates who return completed questionnaires on time to speak and answer questions at our candidate forum and endorsement meeting (scheduled for Wed, Sep 7 from 6:30 - 9 pm). Please note the earlier start time. We hope to finish all
candidate interviews by around 8. If you need to schedule a particular time slot, or if you are unable to make the meeting, please be in touch with us at cc@sfgreens.org. Otherwise, we'll interview candidates as you arrive. This will be a hybrid meeting, so you may also talk to us via Zoom if you prefer. Our forum and endorsement meeting will take place at the Redstone Building, on the third floor (room TBA). The Redstone is located at 2940 16th Street (between
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Completed questionnaires will be posted on our website,
http://sfgreenparty.org.