By: Stefany Olivas, Managing Editor | Photo Provided By: CNM.edu
President Kathie Winograd’s total annual income will now be more than $260, 000 from a base annual salary of $212,000, because of a measure approved by the CNM Governing Board at the November meeting. The measure also increased Winograd’s annual retention bonus from five to 10 percent of her annual income.
This puts Winograd’s salary $93,000 more than the average community college president. Community College presidents earn an average of $167,000, according to the American Association of Community Colleges recent study “Compensation and Benefits of Community College CEO’s: 2012.”
Winograd directed all questions about the pay increase to Marketing and Communications Director Brad Moore, who said this newest raise allowed her the same 3 percent recurring raise other employees received over the summer, but no other employees receive a retention bonus.
The 2 percent non-recurring raise will become permanent if the school does not receive any state budget cuts by Dec. 31, 2012.
The funds for the raise come from CNM’s operational budget, which is the same account for all employees, said Moore.
Winograd may receive additional income for meeting goals set by the governing board throughout the year.
“The goals are yet to be determined by the board, but they’ll be related to meeting performance measures that are high priority for the college,” said Moore.
C o m p u t e r Programming Major Christopher Bayer said the president’s new compensation plan seems like too much money.
The extra money could be used to fix things around the school or would be best if it went to the faculty, said Bayer.
“I can’t imagine her doing anything that actually demands that much monies worth of work.
Especially while there are a lot of part-time teachers making hardly anything,” said Bayer.
Admi n i s t r a t ive positions do usually have a higher pay, but the salary is rarely justified by the amount and type of work done, said Bayer.
CNM Governing members Blair Kaufman, Michael DeWitte, Robert Matteucci, Penny Holbrook, Deborah Moore, Mark Armijo and Janet Saiers collectively responded to questions in an email.
They said that Winograd has proven herself as a president with high quality, integrity and leadership skills and that her actions during an historic period of high budget cuts and record enrollments was integral to this decision, they said.
“Her contract reflects the Board’s continuing high expectations for performance and accountability as she executes her many challenging duties as CNM President,” they said.
No members of the board have heard of anyone upset about the raise, but feel that the decision they made serves the community well, they said.
“We would have the same answer for anybody inquiring about the President’s contract – The CNM Governing Board is in unanimous agreement that President Winograd’s revised contract is in the best interests of CNM, its students, its faculty and staff, and our community,” they said.
Full-time SAGE instructor and Employee’s Union President Andy Tibble said that he is most concerned about the retention bonus that Winograd will receive.
“Providing large sums in the form of bonuses tied only to the President remaining on the job is a peculiar practice. If the president merits a 10 percent increase in salary, then Governing Board members should authorize the raise along with the rationale,” he said.
Another concern Tibble had is the bonuses for Winograd to complete certain goals, and who will be involved in setting those goals— faculty, staff, and students or just executive level employees.
“That introduces a possible conflict of interest into a pay for performance plan, I think,” said Tibble.
He does congratulate Winograd on her good fortune and knows that she is appreciative of it, said Tibble.
“The college president is always going to make a nice salary, and right now she’s got that position and I think she’s thankful for that,” he said.
Tibble said he agrees that she has done well with managing the college in the face of several budget cuts.
“Kathie’s been good with college’s resources in terms of the funding for our institution; we went through years of cuts and there were no layoffs. People need to remember that,” said Tibble.
Tibble agrees with the Governing Board that Winograd has done well in her time as president, and it is important for college to not have a high turnover rate with presidents, he said.
“You want some stability and you want to have the ability to have a plan and follow it through,” said Tibble.
It is important for the board and president to remember that the school is not just an institution for higher learning, but also an employer to provide a decent living wage, said Tibble.
“We have many employees who struggle to make ends meet and live pay check to pay check. The majority of faculty at the college are categorized as part time employees and they have little or no job security,” said Tibble.
