The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees may be unable to discuss executive pay raises behind closed doors if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Los Angeles) passes two bills approved by the state Senate.
The bills will force all executive compensation packages to be voted on in an open forum of a subcommittee and the full governing board, as well as allowing ex officios who are unable to attend trustee meetings to designate a staff person to ask questions and give input.
“The Board of Trustees and UC Regents meet on the same day,” said Richard Saenz, president of the California Faculty Association’s Cal Poly Chapter.
“That’s one reason officers want to send a proxy, so they can attend both meetings. It will offer a different perspective to what’s going on. The (bills) sound like a good way to make Trustees more accountable.”
Assembly Bill (AB) 1413 will require the board to make executive pay decisions public and force any executive or college president receiving compensation from the public university to perform a service for this compensation (i.e., teach classes or produce a work product). Senate Bill (SB) 190, the Higher Education Governance Accountability Act, will require full disclosure of the pay increases with accompanying reasons and allow for public comment.
AB 1413 was authored by Assembly Higher Education Committee Chair Anthony Portantino (D-Pasadena) and Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica), who chairs the Assembly budget subcommittee that develops the CSU budget. Co-authors include Senators Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) and Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo).
Yee also authored SB 190 after a series of audits, lawsuits and other inquiries found that the CSU and the University of California (UC) systems failed to get public approval from the Board of Regents or trustees for compensation packages and that some top executives were paid more than the public was told.
“AB 1413 and SB 190 are bills that address different needs for transparency, accountability, and protection of our precious public higher education funding,” said Lillian Taiz, president of the California Faculty Association.
“Together, they are essential for the future of the CSU.”
SB 190 closes a loophole that allows UC Regents and CSU trustees on advisory groups to circumvent open meetings law, officials said.
Students should be concerned with how much CSU executives are paid, Saenz said.
“It’s a big issue for both the students and staff,” he said. “(Student) fees go up to help pay for (executive salaries). So, if the Trustees are voting to raise fees and give big pay raises, there’s definitely a connection there.”
The Board approved Cal Poly President Warren Baker’s, as well as 27 other top CSU executives’, 11.8 percent average salary increase on Wednesday, while discussing another 10 percent student fee increase.
“All the money is being unevenly distributed,” journalism freshmen Jessica Barba said.
She added that although the bills were authored in California for the CSU system, “it’s a definite reflection on the country as a whole. It’s unfair to the students at the same time.”