CCSF President Shanel Williams Pushing For $35K A Month For Chancellor

Not Making Enough After Pay Cuts Of The Faculty? CCSF Board Chair Shannel Williams Pushes CCSF Chancellor Vurdien For A $35,000 A Month Contract

“He is sacrificing to give us additional time,” Williams said. “He is stepping up for our college.”

City College of San Francisco trustees will consider paying their interim chancellor an additional $20,000 on top of his regular $340,000 salary so that he’ll stay through September while they seek a permanent replacement.

SAN FRANCISCO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT AMENDMENT TO CONTRACT FOR EMPLOYMENT

Dr. Ramalingum (“Rajen”) Vurdien

INTERIM CHANCELLOR

This is an Amendment dated May 20, 2021 to the Contract for Employment dated July 1, 2020 between the Board of Trustees of the San Francisco Community College District and Dr. Ramalingum (“Rajen”) Vurdien (“Interim Chancellor”) (hereinafter referred to as “this Agreement”)

Section 3 (Term) shall be amended as follows: 3. Term

The term of this Agreement shall be extended from July 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021, unless further extended by mutual agreement and in conformance with applicable laws and regulations. [Education Code Section 72411(a)]

Section 4 (Salary), shall be amended as follows: 4. Salary

Interim Chancellor’s monthly base salary shall be Thirty-five Thousand Dollars ($35,000) per month effective July 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021. Where only a portion of the contract month is served, compensation shall be prorated.

Except as modified herein, all other terms of the original Contract for Employment shall remain effective for the term of this Agreement.

Date:___________________________

_______________________________ Shanell Williams
President, Board of Trustees


05/14/2021

Date:____________________________

Ramalingum Vurdien

__Ra_m_ali_ng_um_V_ur_di_en_(M_ay_1_4, _20_21_08_:5_8 P_DT_) ___________ Dr. Ramalingum (“Rajen”) Vurdien Interim Chancellor


Amendment to Interim Chancellor_s Contract.DOC

Final Audit Report 2021-05-14

"Amendment to Interim Chancellor_s Contract.DOC" History

Document created by lshaw [at] ccsf.edu 2021-05-14 - 3:56:12 PM GMT- IP address: 147.144.3.239

Document emailed to Ramalingum Vurdien (rvurdien [at] ccsf.edu) for signature 2021-05-14 - 3:57:04 PM GMT

Email viewed by Ramalingum Vurdien (rvurdien [at] ccsf.edu) 2021-05-14 - 3:57:32 PM GMT- IP address: 104.47.46.254

Document e-signed by Ramalingum Vurdien (rvurdien [at] ccsf.edu)
Signature Date: 2021-05-14 - 3:58:46 PM GMT - Time Source: server- IP address: 147.144.3.239

Agreement completed. 2021-05-14 - 3:58:46 PM GMT


CCSF seeks 23.5% raise for executive as faculty take steep pay cuts during fiscal crisis

https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/CCSF-seeks-23-5-raise-for-executive-as-faculty-16179022.php?fbclid=IwAR2_Ci3JMjDQvXyyjKe2IEmqCzl29A-CeoTPZ3LnXWsLQAFAC4hAPl3FZBI

Nanette Asimov
May 14, 2021
Updated: May 14, 2021 10:27 p.m.
Rally organizers hold sign board effigies of the CCSF trustee members who have shown support for massive cuts to the college during a rally opposing the cuts hosted by the CCSF Student Collective, and for AAPI and Black solidarity at Mission High School in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, May 6, 2021.
Rally organizers hold sign board effigies of the CCSF trustee members who have shown support for massive cuts to the college during a rally opposing the cuts hosted by the CCSF Student Collective, and for AAPI and Black solidarity at Mission High School in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, May 6, 2021.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle
City College of San Francisco trustees will consider paying their interim chancellor an additional $20,000 on top of his regular $340,000 salary so that he’ll stay through September while they seek a permanent replacement.
College officials posted the proposed 23.5% bonus three days after the faculty union agreed to take pay cuts of up to 14% to avoid hundreds of layoffs and class cuts, a pay increase that angered many who have spent months fighting the massive downsizing of the college.
“I’m outraged about this,” said Stephanie MacAller, an English instructor. “Right after faculty take a pay cut, the chancellor is trying to get a raise?!”
Interim Chancellor Rajen Vurdien has been overseeing the effort to close a projected deficit of $35 million at City College, a financial crisis that has caught the attention of the state’s fiscal watchdogs who warned last month that the college risked insolvency if it didn’t rein in spending.
Wynd Kaufman, an engineering instructor and former president of the faculty union, said she felt betrayed. “City College faculty just accepted huge pay cuts to save classes for students,” she said. “Now our trustees turn around and give the chancellor a 23.5% raise? Where’s the shared sacrifice they talked about?”
The trustees will vote on Thursday. If approved, Vurdien’s salary would grow to $35,000 a month — equivalent to $420,000 a year — from $28,333 a month, or $340,000 a year.
Shanell Williams, president of the Board of Trustees, said Vurdien and the trustees recently agreed that he deserved the raise, especially because Vurdien, a former chancellor at Pasadena Community College, came out of retirement in 2020 to take the top spot while City College looked for a permanent leader.
There are still no candidates in the wings, Williams said, although a search firm is working on it. Vurdien has agreed to stay through September.
“He is sacrificing to give us additional time,” Williams said. “He is stepping up for our college.”
That explanation gave little comfort to faculty whose pay has been cut, and to students who have spent months protesting the deep class cuts proposed by Vurdien and his staff.
“There is no logical argument that could justify the board passing the amendment to this contract,” said Vick Chung, the nonvoting student trustee. “How can the board approve of any raises when less than a week ago we forced our faculty to make a choice between salary reductions or losing their livelihood?”
Vurdien became interim chancellor in spring 2020 after his predecessor, Mark Rocha, was placed on paid leave before resigning. Rocha’s three years at the helm were troubled, due to his handling of the mounting budget crisis — including a botched effort to secretly double executive salaries in summer 2019. The trustees ultimately approved 10% raises for most administrators.
A report from the state Community College Chancellor’s office that year found that City College administrators earned 28% more, on average, than their peers at other community colleges — the third highest salaries in the state. The report was included in a January internal audit of City College administrators’ compensation.
Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov [at] sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov