LTCC board to vote on faculty raises
By Kathryn Reed
Faculty and some administrators at Lake Tahoe Community College are expected to see fatter paychecks.
The college board tonight is being asked to approve raises for full-time and adjunct faculty, as well as give one-time bonuses to three interim deans.
“Many employees on this campus work harder than they ever have because we have cut costs, reduced staffs, and combined job duties,” LTCC President Kindred Murillo told Lake Tahoe News. “They have done this repeatedly over the budget cuts, loss of (full-time equivalent students), and other issues, and we believe a 2 percent increase is reasonable and fair.”
The last raise for full-time instructors was in 2008. This salary increase is retroactive to July 1, 2014. The contract is for three years.
Scott Lukas, chair of the Faculty Academic Senate, told Lake Tahoe News, “We were interested in a raise that would get us to our comparable pay levels with the other schools in our small school list. The 2 percent that we agreed to was not at the level that we wanted, but I think that the district would not go anywhere above this 2 percent. So, in a sense, it was 2 percent or nothing.”
He said the union is not done with seeking salaries that are “fair compared to other schools”.
The salary boosts will cost LTCC about $100,000 a year. With adjunct instructor numbers not constant, the savings will fluctuate.
“LTCC, as typical of many small districts, has some of the lowest salaries in the state, so we have to be very thoughtful about recruitment of employees overall. While these are very good salaries for our local area, they are not attractive statewide,” Murillo said.
What remains to be seen is if this raise will do anything to improve morale at the South Lake Tahoe two-year school.
One thing the faculty brought to the table is an early retirement incentive. For this to occur at least four people have to retire and there has to be a cost savings to the college.
Even though raises have not taken place for six years, negotiations have been ongoing, with changes to the faculty contract along the way.
“We moved our benefitted employees from 100 percent paid premier plan to a 100 percent standard plan that saved the district approximately $200,000 for FY 2014-15, and will save the district in the future as health benefit costs continue to increase,” Murillo said.
Because most employees are not full time they do not receive the health and welfare benefits.
In years past, the classified staff usually received what the faculty negotiated for. But a few years ago those workers formed a union. Negotiations with the Classified Employees Union have yet to begin.
In the next few months LTCC officials will be conducting meet and confer sessions with confidential classified, directors, and administrators. Those first two groups don’t have contracts, while administrator contracts are tailored to the individual.
Also on the Jan. 13 board agenda is an item to give Executive Dean of CTE & Instruction Virginia Boyar, interim Executive Dean of Student & Academic Support Services Suzanne Gochis, and interim Executive Dean of Instruction Michelle Risdon each an annual pay increase of $10,000 effective Jan. 1.
These are one-time salary spikes to compensate the three for the added workload because the positions of vice president of Academic Affairs and Student Services and executive director of Institutional Research, Planning, and Advancement remain vacant.
The college is saving $155,000, before bonuses for the deans, by not filling those jobs. But the plan is to eventually fill them.
“I plan on recruiting again (for the vice president job) once we finalize working on some issues around enrollment management, and the timing to recruit in the state system is right,” Murillo explained. “There is going to be a lot of movement in administrators this year because of retirements and president openings. This movement will trickle down and it will play into our strategy for recruitment.”
LTCC board to vote on pay raise for faculty and administrators. This should come as no surprize.
If someone gave you 55 million of taxpayer money, would’nt you want a cut of the action for yourself?
We’ll see how the rest of the money is spent from “the oversight commitee” which will be handpicked by those that allocate where the money goes and to whom.
A sweet deal for those on the receiving end. For the taxpayers? Not so much. OLS
OLS I don’t think the $55m can be used for raises.
For those that benefited, the shakedown was hugely successful. Let the bonuses fly.
Slapshot, I’m sure it was merely a coincidence that they’re voting for a wage increase for administraors and faculty, after getting 55 million for “improvements and upgrades” on the campus.
Funny how that worked out. OLS
2% is deserved since not having a raise since 2008. That is behind what is happening in the private sector. If it keeps a couple of key facility that is for the betterment of the school and students I will pay for that.
Has anyone (other than a government/agency employee) gotten a raise since 2008? Nobody that I know, other than the (again) government mandated minimum wage increases.
The rest of us are, for the most part, actually making less.
Yeah, anybody who believed that the voter shakedown wouldn’t result in pay increases at the college was delusional. They SAID the money couldn’t be used for pay, but the money we gave them freed up money that could now be used elsewhere.
It’s a shell game, Folks. And the people voted to let us struggling homeowners make life a lot more comfortable for administrators who already make a quite comfortable wage.
I mean, if it was SO bad, why not go to those other, ‘comparable’ small schools? Every time some agency wants a raise, they compare our area to somewhere else. if you want those wages, GO THERE.
But we don’t have a choice. They want more money, and we are not allowed to deny them.
Hey Slap and OLS, the 55 million can’t be used for raises for sure. What the 55 million did do is free up a ton of money in the ongoing budget to do what ever they please. The college can now take any amount they choose from their maintenance line item and use it for raises. They now have all of the new tax dollars that will be covering the maintenance.
If that is what in fact what they do hopefully the press will report it and they can be held accountable by the public.
Too late, Slapshot. They GOT the money. They don’t care what we know. And by the next election when they want more money, the short memory of the electorate will work in their favor again.
Your property tax is going up, your rental payment is going up. Your wages, if you have any, are staying the same, or your hours at work have been cut due to the lack of business here. No snow for the ski areas=hours cut, a dwindeling profit for the casinos and drop in the numbers of out of town guests, so they cut your wages and hours=less pay for empolyees.Yet LTCC will vote themselves a raise for the faculty and administrators, while teaching at a school that is barely half full.
Give me a bucket of roof tar patch and a putty knife and I’ll fix the damned roof leak. Rooms too cold? Put on a sweater, this is Tahoe you know, and yes, it does get cold here! Put up another building? For what? More nonexistent students?
What a scam! I wish I could pass a measure to improve my property at others expense with the taxpayer seeing no reward. All they will see is a smaller bank account and a slimmer wallet, but not much else. OLS
Everyone is right on in the previous comments. What I cannot believe is that they are strategizing to recruit people to LTCC. Just like with the soccer teams, if you have to recruit to get anyone to come to teach, administrate or play sports in Tahoe than you have a major problem with your product- LTCC. Tahoe sells itself that’s why people here are willing to live in ‘poverty with a view.’
So long suckers, and thanks for the fish…
Yes, the public got scammed on taking 55 million of public taxpayer money and handing it over to LTCC.
Sure, the low voter turnout did’nt help, but hey, the college is rolling in the dough! I’m sure their lovin’ it!
A raise in wages for those employed, a faster internet and a better cell phone service and put up another building.
Gotta patch that roof, have a new heating system installed and give themselves all a nice raise!
So where does the other 50 million go?
Just curious, OLS
I’m in total shock!!!!!!!!!!!
You knew this was going to happen yet did nothing at the election booth. We have elected the same yet expect different results. We are all insane up here. Measure S ring a bell? Look who are the folks pushing these agendas and look at the folks you / we elected. You should personally contact the “locals” who posted here under their real name and confront them and ask them to get involved once again. Ask them if they still are behind this $$ grab. My son is graduating from LTCC with his AA this spring and it took him 2 1/2 years of full time (16 units +) because most of the classes were either at night or on line or cancelled due to lack of students. A patched roof and higher salaries will not help. Offering quality classes will, this is a college not a daycare. Btw, my wife received her AA here as well and I attended the college in it’s current location as well as the old motel location. All of the recreation classes should be taken over by the city as part of the recreation aspect of services that we pay for anyway. Core classes is what we need to attract students as well as student housing on campus. $55 mil would go along way to achieve this. The only way to do this is have the state take over the land then we can build without getting approval from u know who.
I hope the Board members go walk the soccer field as I did yesterday, before they give out raises. It is destroyed. The clean up of the field 13 days later is not even close to being able to be used for sports. Take care of what you have!!! RAISES???
a big stadium for SnoGlobe?
Keystone Cops training center?
some people would not believe the Truth if it hit them upside their Head.
I do believe there was a warning before the big vote.
and you might wonder why they spent so much Money promoting the Bond measure?
I’m a little surprised they only waited 2 months to make the announcement.
Arrogance personified.
So, here we are. Everybodys cost of living went up to a ballot measure that barely passed to take 55 million out of our pockets and give it to LTCC. A campus that has half of the students it was designed for. It needs minor repairs and a staff that will vote themselves a raise in wages. And lets not forget the cost of replacing the fake grass on the soccer field that did, partly for renting it out to SnowGlobe, fell apart. It
did not last as long as was guarenteed. That fake grass company went out of business so the warranty is no longer valid.
What else can go wrong? Plenty! OLS
Our $55 million turned into 550 years of a 2% salary raise at $100k per year. Maybe it wont all go to pay raises. Maybe they will have free vending machines. Maybe it will actually benefit the community. Maybe you people need to get off your computer and benefit yourselves instead of commenting on LTN all day, although I’m sure it helps with LTN’s advertising revenue.
If you read the comments on ESPN.com you know that people commenting behind fake names are idiots, myself included unless I am the real Elvis, and also that you can make up to $7000 a day working from home if you just click the link. Then you could pay all of the taxes that you didn’t vote for.
The Yukon Territory is accepting applications for Hermits.
I really screwed up. After all these years of struggling to run a private business i should have been pursueing a career in the public sector. Free healthcare, vacation/sick time, raises, the ability to vote yourself money….yet here i am late to the party struggling to raise a family…what a maroon.
Am I reading the same article. The full timers had not had a raise since 2008. Net effect between people leaving and the people getting raises is $-55,000 per year. So everyone freak out! OMG!
I mean maybe we should just pay College Professors the same wage as the guy flippin’ burgers on Hwy 50. Or even the better, give them the same pay as the kids making shoes for Nike in Asia.
OMG! Ebola-ISIS Vombies are coming! OMG! Gas prices are going up January 1st! NOT!
Kenny-
TRPA still has permitting authority over projects on state lands. How could you not know this?
Never said trpa. They do in fact have authority over state lands but not buildings. If the state or feds own the building they can do what they want. Think CHP, CCC, CTC, USDA or any of the others who do what they want up here.
Are all of you complaining showing up at the Board meeting tonight ? Perfect opportunity to express your disgust !
Yep,
It’s the same old game bureaucratic game. And it keeps getting played because the voters keep buying it.
Cry poor and go to the voters. Claim you’ve cut the bone, and proclaim that if one is against the particular increase, then you must be totally against, (well in this case) education, or an educated population. And further claim that the tax increase can only go for specific purposes, such as infrastructure. Plus throw in that the world will end if the increase isn’t passed
Enough voters buy it, and/or are scared into voting for it. The increase passes. Thus freeing up already budgeted money to go into raises for the already well-compensated.
Well plaid! And congrats, cause it usually keeps on working!
And yet, those of us who made ALL these points BEFORE the election were routinely reviled and ridiculed.
smh
Dog, Hey I resemble that lol
Yep, Kenny, there were a few of us. But they just don’t listen!
WOW it is really interesting that no one here seems to know that the state just came out with a budget that is increasing funding for community colleges. Also interesting is that every one is skipping over the part of the article that shows how the college is paying for the increase, ie lower medical costs and posible earlier retirements that will take people off their budget. At the end of tne day my guess would be that there will be very littl, if any net gain to the colleges budget, after the savings and increase in funding from the state.
Some here state that no one has recieved raises which isnt true even social security has recieved over 12% since 2008 and inflation has also increased about that much.
…”the public got scammed…” “…the low voter turnout didn’t help…”
Both Measure P and Measure F passed and both had low voter turnout. You win some and you lose some.
Reloman, regardless of whether it comes from ‘the state’ or the local tax increase, it ALL comes out of the tax-payers pockets.
Government shell game accounting not withstanding.
So in other words reloman,
LTCC was able to find money on their own when they really needed to.
Yeah, it’s those Ebola Infected Bureaucrats at LTCC! Blame them and their 2% raise over 6 years!
And while we are at it, how about those Ebola Bureaucrats at the Airport milking the system for $400,000 a year!
Or, how about those Ebola Bureaucrats at Caesars (Harrahs) gaming the system for $20 Billion!
Way to contribute rock4tahoe….thanks
Dear Business Owner,
You would have to learn to spell before you get a job in the public sector, which would mean you would need…an education…who would provide you with such? But you can be a “Maroon” instead, if you so choose. I would just prefer to be paid what I am worth to work with “maroons” such as yourself.
Dear suzanne roberts…go watch bugs bunny and elmor fudd. Btw, picking on spelling is by far the lamest argument people can have, try going after content of a comment not the style it is.
The 55 million can’t be used for salary raises. Please review the bond measure plan here: http://www.ltcc.edu/measuref. There isn’t some conspiracy theory, and non of you have any evidence that the raises came from the 55 million (which hasn’t even reached LTCC’s pockets). So stop spreading bad information as if it were fact.
If you are concerned about the bond measure, now’s your chance to ensure the money is spent correctly by applying for a spot on the Citizens Oversight Committee to review the spending of the 55 million. You can download the application from the page I linked above.
Get involved!