Proposed 12% California State University Executive Pay Increase Opposed by Lt. Governor Garamendi in Light of Student Fee Increa

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Garamendi also calls for UC and CSU meetings to be scheduled on different days to allow for full participation by ex-officio members

By Frank D. Russo

Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi sent a strongly worded letter yesterday to California State University (CSU) Chancellor Charles Reed and Board of Trustees Chair Roberta Achtenberg opposing any executive pay raises.

He communicated by letter because he could not simultaneously attend tomorrow's CSU Trustee's meeting and that of the University of California Board of Regents, part of an ongoing scheduling conflict where these two bodies frequently meet on the same day in opposite ends of the state. Garamendi is an ex-officio member of both boards (by reason of his election as Lieutenant Governor) as is the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Speaker of the Assembly, and the Governor. He has taken an active role in both the CSU and UC meetings and wants to attend both to participate in person and vote on important issues impacting higher education in California.

In his letter, he outlines seven reasons why CSU should not to proceed with a pay increase and urges his fellow board members to vote against any such proposals. He states:

"I believe the formal policy on executive compensation and the proposal to provide salary increases to CSU executives is ill-timed and unwise. At a time when California faces ongoing budgetary pressure and uncertainty, when student fees have been increased 94% since 2002, and when future increases in CSU’s general fund support are highly unlikely, this proposal will most assuredly arouse the ire of students, faculty and the Legislature. I am adamantly opposed to these increases in executive compensation, for the reasons I have stated above, and for the following additional reasons:

1. The CSU system is now in the third month of the current budget, and there is no line item in the budget for any increase beyond what was approved last year. Exactly what program will be cut to pay for the increases?

2. Every study of faculty pay indicates that, even with the pay increases obtained last year through a bruising and protracted conflict, the level of CSU faculty pay remains below comparable institutions. Increasing executive pay well beyond what the faculty receives (both as a percentage and in total dollars) will ignite a furor among faculty and create future negotiation difficulties on any number of matters.