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Monmouth County Board of Freeholders is demanding givebacks from Brookdale Community College President Peter F. Burnham's lucrative job contract after learning that the college's board of trustees has granted him an enviable list of benefits to go along with his $216,000 annual base salary.
The freeholders recently learned that Burnham, who has been college president for the past 20 years, also receives a country club membership, a $1,500 monthly housing allowance and a new vehicle "suitable to his office," which most recently meant a 2010 Ford Expedition that the college purchased for $42,815.
Burnham's contract also allows up to $40,000 annually in college tuition for his two children, for a total of $267,676 to private universities so far.
"I see this as an extravagance at a time and place when there's no room for extravagance," Freeholder John P. Curley said.
What do you expect. The money is from tax payers and they never get audit.
'Cept there are probably dozens of HS superintendents making the same or better.
And there's a certain coach at Rutgers who earns 10X that and got a free house in Piscataway, use of a helicopter, free car I'm sure, etc.
that's a good point. hadn't thought about that with hs super...well. the president of Lehigh University should be making a lot more than the pres at a community college. i think Lehigh pays around $500,000. i bet he's worth a lot more than that.
probably true. but president's are typically just a person who does networking and butt kissing. so almost every college i've ever been to (sadly, been to a lot), has a residence for the president. they do events there and he/she lives there. it's pretty common, but i'm a bit surprised to see it at a community college. i'm not saying it makes sense, just saying, it's commonly part of the compensation for that position, so it's not shocking to see it. that's pretty crazy amount for a car stipend. i've seen presidents that make much more than that and they are given a camry or something of that sort.
But...this is a community college. At a 4-year school, I'd be right on board - Presidents need a house where they can entertain so that they can schmooze the donors. Sometimes they also give the spouse a stipend, because they are doing entertaining. The fund raising never ends. However, the educational benefit is very unusual for anyone at any school.
I read this in the paper yesterday. I thought the salary was reasonable but thought the vehicle allowance and the housing stipend were a bit much. (I am not familiar with compensation packages in the academic world, but thanks for that info.)
the first time i went to a school for a consulting project and saw the compensation i thought to myself...why the heck am i working in consulting, busting my butt, when i could work at a college! it's insane. the use of "stipend" pay at many schools is just nuts. if you do something that's not in your normal job description, stipend!
i don't know that $1,500 is a lot for a monthly housing allowance. colleges usually require you to live near the school during the school year, so what's the market price? college presidents turnover often, so that's how it has formed..instead of schools paying for moving costs every time, they've paid stipends for them to live near or on campus. when it comes down to it, people forget that the college president is basically the CEO of the school. so you have to pay them to keep their skills, and they are also theoretically making less than they could for their skills if they left not-for-profit industry and went into private industry.
a ford expedition though, that's crazy. i mean, i could see the harvard president needing a nice mercedes or something, cause how do you schmooze with harvard grads to donate money while taking them to lunch in your toyota camry?
Quote:
Originally Posted by yeahboy79
All those things are too much. Middle class people have mortgages, cars and kids in college and are doing that on a third of his salary. Why do these high positions (councilmen, presidents, ceos) get cars? Am I supposed to believe that they cannot afford a $400 monthly payment for a car on their $200K+ salary?
my father works for a public utility company and is up for a promotion to a management position. he'd have to go between locations throughout PA. he's not going to be making a lot, but it's a lot for PA. and the position gives a car. usually, when you use a vehicle a lot for work, they just pay for your car. this isn't uncommon in middle class positions either depending on what you do. the company i used to work for reimbursed me for my mileage, which actually paid me more than my monthly expenses for the car. but that's cause i had a car that was much better than avg on gas mileage!
This man was offered a job at a SUNY college and in order to keep him the college agreed to these perks in the contract. Now they could have chosen not to keep him but the trustees felt he was the person best suited for the school. I thought that is how the system was supposed to work? He would have received these perks at the other school so that must have been the market at the time. Seems unfair to challenge it now.
that's an interesting point too. guess they should have just let him go to SUNY, and offered the position to someone with no executive experience so they could save money on his salary right? hehe.
'Cept there are probably dozens of HS superintendents making the same or better.
And there's a certain coach at Rutgers who earns 10X that and got a free house in Piscataway, use of a helicopter, free car I'm sure, etc.
Its not the salary, which is quite reasonable (and, in line with school system superintendents). Its the benefits which are way out of whack.
That's how this stuff gets hidden - salaries are almost always publicly disclosed. But perks can be hidden in non-compensation line items. I also bet the school is paying the taxes (grossing up) on the perks. Its obscene.
But...this is a community college. At a 4-year school, I'd be right on board - Presidents need a house where they can entertain so that they can schmooze the donors. Sometimes they also give the spouse a stipend, because they are doing entertaining. The fund raising never ends. However, the educational benefit is very unusual for anyone at any school.
i've seen that benefit at many schools. even many regular employees will get either free education at the school they work at, or a certain amount if their kids go elsewhere. i wouldn't think giving the guy who runs the entire school $40k in tuition for his kids is that outlandish from what i've seen.
i've seen that benefit at many schools. even many regular employees will get either free education at the school they work at, or a certain amount if their kids go elsewhere. i wouldn't think giving the guy who runs the entire school $40k in tuition for his kids is that outlandish from what i've seen.
... and then they just raise tuition costs for everybody else to cover these expenses
i've seen that benefit at many schools. even many regular employees will get either free education at the school they work at, or a certain amount if their kids go elsewhere. i wouldn't think giving the guy who runs the entire school $40k in tuition for his kids is that outlandish from what i've seen.
This is where I must disagree. Free tuition is a very common benefit - for the school you are employed at. Almost universal. But $40k at other schools, every year? I can see how someone would argue for this (i.e. I could be an administrator at a 4 year school and get this benefit), but its massively inappropriate at the community college level.
Remember, CC's are not fund-raising engines like 4 year schools. The role of president is massively different. You can't compare 4 year and 2 year institutions.
This is where I must disagree. Free tuition is a very common benefit - for the school you are employed at. Almost universal. But $40k at other schools, every year? I can see how someone would argue for this (i.e. I could be an administrator at a 4 year school and get this benefit), but its massively inappropriate at the community college level.
Remember, CC's are not fund-raising engines like 4 year schools. The role of president is massively different. You can't compare 4 year and 2 year institutions.
princeton pays tuition for the children of employees at any college of choice. of course it's private, but just wanted to point that out.
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