Judge blocks stripping of CCSF accreditation College's accreditation can't be stripped without trial

A pedestrian walks down the sidewalk December 4, 2013 outside of the San Francisco City College Rosenberg Library. A pedestrian walks down the sidewalk December 4, 2013 outside of the San Francisco City College Rosenberg Library. Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Judge blocks stripping of CCSF accreditation 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

City College of San Francisco's accreditation cannot be revoked until a trial can determine whether a commission acted lawfully in deciding that the vast school was so poorly run that it should be shut down, a judge ruled Thursday.

Closing the college of nearly 80,000 students "would be catastrophic," San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow said in a ruling that partially granted a preliminary injunction sought by San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera.

The injunction covers only City College and does not prevent the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges from sanctioning the state's other 111 community colleges if necessary, something Herrera had sought.

The ruling allows City College to continue trying to repair the many administrative and financial deficiencies that put its accreditation in jeopardy in the first place. But it means that its accreditation could not be revoked unless the commission wins at trial.

Karnow's ruling indicates he thinks Herrera could win at trial.

Bias, conflicts alleged

The city's suit says the commission allowed political bias and conflicts of interest to influence not only its decision to revoke the college's accreditation next summer, but also its entire evaluation of the college that began in March 2012.

The suit alleges that the commission unfairly stacked its evaluation team with supporters of a statewide initiative called the Student Success Task Force that sought to limit college access for thousands of students whose academic goals did not include a degree or transfer to a four-year college. The commission's president, Barbara Beno, also wrote letters to the state in support of the initiative, which became law. At the same time, City College students and faculty members were among the most outspoken critics of the idea.

The suit also claims the evaluation team had too few faculty members and should not have included Beno's husband, Peter Crabtree.

"We're incredibly pleased with the outcome," Herrera said. "We're hopeful the (commission) will take heed in the future and evaluate colleges in a fair manner with no conflicts of interest."

Deputy City Attorney Sara Eisenberg, who argued the case, said, "We asked (the judge) to hit the pause button, and he reached the right result." The goal at trial would be to start the entire evaluation process over, she said.

Karnow denied the American Federation of Teachers' request for a similar injunction because the union did not prove it would have suffered a strong enough level of harm. By contrast, Herrera said he represents "the people," who include tens of thousands of students and potential students who would suffer most if the college shut down.

Karnow also denied motions by the accrediting commission to dismiss both cases.

"There is no question ... of the harm that will be suffered if the commission follows through and terminates accreditation as of July 2014," Karnow wrote in his extensive, 53-page ruling. "Those consequences would be catastrophic."

Attorney Philip Ward, representing the commission, declined to comment until he could discuss the ruling with his clients.

The commission's office in Novato is closed until Monday, and no one answered the phone. Beno did not respond to an e-mail.

College officials react

City College officials themselves oppose the lawsuits on behalf of the college, preferring to continue trying to fix its extensive problems.

"The ruling doesn't affect me at all," said Robert Agrella, the special trustee appointed by the state to replace the elected Board of Trustees last summer. "I was brought in to meet the accreditation standards, and that is exactly what we're doing."

Brice Harris, chancellor of the statewide community college system, agreed. In a letter to Herrera on Thursday, Harris expressed dismay that the courts had gotten involved at all.

"Court intervention is not necessary to keep City College open," Harris wrote. "Characterizations that the cases before the court are a 'last-ditch' effort to 'save' City College are inaccurate and will do additional damage to the college's enrollment."

He then listed nine areas in which the college had made significant progress, including hiring a permanent chancellor, hiring a collection agency to recoup millions of dollars in student fees it never collected, and mapping out progress on each of the 357 steps needed to fully comply with accreditation standards.

Meanwhile, faculty members and students were excited about the ruling.

"I'm feeling good about the decision," said Shanell Williams, an activist with the Save City College Coalition. "Students have been feeling a lot of frustration, like there was this train speeding down the road, and we felt, like, how can we stop it?

"This (ruling) greatly benefits students and helps them to feel more confident that we'll remain open and accredited."

'The law is on our side'

Activist Wendy Kaufmyn, an engineering instructor, said she was happy about the ruling even though the faculty motion did not prevail.

"Not only is justice on our side, but I think the law is on our side - which is not always the same thing," she said.

A trial date is expected to be set this month and could come as early as the summer, Herrera said.