College and district administrators might see another pay increase.
By Zachary-Taylor Wright
zwright9@student.alamo.edu
The board of trustees approved a recommended compensation adjustment schedule for faculty, staff and administrators scheduled for implementation January 1 during the May 16 board meeting at Killen Center.
The implementation of this compensation adjustment is expected to cost $4.2 million.
Infographic by Zachary-Taylor Wright
According to the compensation adjustment minute order, full-time faculty will receive a 4.15 percent salary increase, and administrators above or below the market salary midpoint will receive a 3 percent salary increase.
Administrators are the only staff to receive the same salary percentage increase regardless of being above or below the midpoint for their salary grade.
According to the staff grading structure and Alamo Colleges’ job descriptions, college presidents and vice chancellors are a staff grade S31 with a market minimum salary of $177,673.60 and a market midpoint salary of $222,081.60.
According to the staff grading structure, the chancellor position is a staff grade S39.
According to the fiscal year 2017 budget book, Chancellor Bruce Leslie earns a base salary of $399,321; this means the chancellor will take home an $11,979.63 raise, making his salary for fiscal year 2018 $411,300.63.
The district human resources department compares the general industry market and the blended higher education market, which is generally lower on average compared to the general market, and compares them to non-faculty positions to determine administrator and staff market averages.
A faculty compensation committee and the district human resources department use the Texas Community College Teachers Association averages to establish faculty salary averages.
In an interview with The Ranger on May 31, Amanda Martin, Adjunct Faculty Council chair, said there is no salary range for adjunct faculty.
Martin said Adjunct Faculty Council will meet this summer to review the market in the city to establish a salary range for adjunct faculty.
Vice chancellors and college presidents currently receive a salary of $215,657, which is below the market midpoint salary for a staff grade of S31, meaning both presidents and vice chancellors will receive a 3 percent salary increase of $6,469.71 in fiscal year 2018.
This would put the salaries of college presidents and vice chancellors at $222,126.71 for fiscal year 2018, placing them above the new market midpoint salary.
Full-time staff will receive a 3.3 percent salary increase if they are below the market minimum salary, a 3 percent salary increase if they are below the market midpoint salary, a 2.7 percent salary increase if they are above the market midpoint salary and a 1 percent salary increase if they are above the market maximum salary.
Part-time staff will receive a 2.7 percent salary increase if they are below the market minimum salary, a 2.5 percent increase if they are below the new midpoint, a 2.2 percent salary increase if they are above the market midpoint salary and a 1 percent salary increase if they are above the market maximum salary.
Adjunct faculty will receive a 2 percent salary increase.
During the Audit, Budget and Finance Committee meeting May 9, District 8 trustee Clint Kingsbery questioned how the district and college salaries compared to other state institutions, saying he understands the plight of adjuncts and understands several core classes are taught by adjunct faculty.
According to a presentation made by Linda Boyer-Owens, associate vice chancellor of human resources, the Alamo Community Colleges District ranks fourth in the state for adjunct faculty compensation.
Austin Community College District, El Paso Community College and Tarrant County Community College District outrank the Alamo Colleges in adjunct faculty compensation.
Boyer-Owens said the compensation increase will put the district in third place, moving ahead of Tarrant County.
Boyer-Owens said the district has maintained a compensation average increase of 2.5 percent over the past four years, which she said matches the national average of 2-3 percent growth.
District 9 trustee Jim Rindfuss said comparing the pay without accounting for the cost of living in each district might be cause for the Alamo Colleges’ low rank.
Chancellor Bruce Leslie said the district uses Texas Community College Teachers Association’s data to best understand how the district compares to other colleges because the inclusion of the cost of living data overcomplicates the formula and doesn’t offer any true value to the board’s decision making.
Rindfuss argued that a faculty member in this district may be able to afford housing for $1,200 a month but may cost $2,200 a month in a different community college district.
Leslie said the board rejected a model including cost of living previously and said the current model works well.
Boyer-Owens said the compensation adjustment was introduced at the beginning of the budget process, rather than the previous method of placing compensation adjustments at the end of the budget process, because administrators recognize it is as important as all other expenses.
