Coast Chancellor’s Retirement Package Called Too Lucrative

Teachers in Orange County’s largest community college district, who went without pay raises last year, are upset about a “a lucrative retirement package” being given Chancellor David A. Brownell, according to the teachers’ union.

The early-retirement package gives Brownell a pay raise--from $93,756 a year to $144,000--for his final year in office. He will retire next year, at his request, at age 55. Brownell, who lives in Newport Beach, could not be reached for comment Wednesday about the teacher union’s unhappiness.

“The teachers are incensed,” said Dave Jarman, president of the teachers’ branch of the Coast Federation of Employees, American Federation of Teachers, Local 1911. He declared that educators will take a harder line on salary issues next week when contract talks are reopened.

Chief Executive Officer

Brownell is chancellor, a title which means chief executive officer, of the Coast Community College District. The district, which has about 55,000 students, governs Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Golden West College in Huntington Beach and Coastline Community College, based in Fountain Valley.

Citing “severe budget problems” last winter, the district gave no pay raises to the 700 teachers in the three community colleges.

But in June, the board of trustees approved an early-retirement package for Brownell that the teacher union says is extravagant for the financially ailing district. Under the arrangement, Brownell’s base salary was boosted by 53% for the fiscal year that began July 1.

Brownell was already the highest-paid community college chancellor in Orange County before the increase to $144,000. Chancellor Robert Jensen of Rancho Santiago Community College District, based in Santa Ana, makes $86,158 a year; James S. Kellerman, chancellor of North Orange County Community College District, based in Fullerton, makes $85,600, and Richard Sneed, chancellor of Saddleback Community College District, based in Mission Viejo, makes $76,000 a year.

Brownell, who asked for early retirement to spend more time with his family, plans to continue as head of the district until a new chancellor is chosen early next year.

After the new chancellor is selected by trustees, Brownell’s amended contract calls for him to remain on the payroll as a consultant until October, 1988, at half his base pay--or $72,000.

Phillis Basile, vice chancellor for human resources, said Wednesday that the trustees raised Brownell’s salary to $144,000 this final year to pay him for more than 75 days of unused vacation time. “The district is legally obligated to pay him for those days,” she declared.

But Basile acknowledged that by elevating Brownell’s salary during his final year, trustees also enhanced Brownell’s potential retirement pay. The amount of his retirement pay could not be immediately estimated by state retirement system officials in Sacramento.

Teachers and schools systems jointly contribute money into a central fund called the State Teachers Retirement System, which pays retirement checks to both teachers and administrators. The amount of retirement pay is based upon age at retirement, years of service and an average of the top three consecutive base salaries ever received.

Basile said that Brownell, by retiring at age 55 next year, will “be at the low end on that basis, but he’ll be at the high end on years of service and base pay.” Brownell has had 34 years of teaching and education administrative service in California.

But Brownell’s final-year pay of $144,000 may come under scrutiny, according to Larry Kurmel, chief executive officer of the retirement system in Sacramento.

Kurmel said Wednesday that in recent years some districts have been artificially increasing top administrators’ pay to make them eligible for fatter retirement checks from the system.

“We have the power to toss out a year’s salary that has been artificially ballooned,” Kurmel said. “That power was just clarified by a new law recently signed by the governor. So this sounds like the kind of thing that we scrutinize very carefully.”

Teachers and some administrators in Coast Community College District have been privately complaining about Brownell’s retirement package for the past month. And some teachers have been mailing anonymous letters to the press and to state officials, urging an investigation.

“This wasn’t just a golden handshake that Brownell got; it was platinum plated,” said one Coast Community College District employee, who asked not to be quoted by name.

But the teachers’ discontent became public this week with the publication of the newsletter of the union. In that newsletter, the union bitterly criticized Brownell’s retirement package.

The newsletter noted that among other things, Brownell will get lifetime fringe benefits--group coverage rates for medical, dental and vision care.

“Isn’t it ironic that we get a proposal back from the district that reduces our fringe benefits, after they just gave lifetime fringe benefits to the chancellor and his spouse!” the newsletter said.

Vice Chancellor Basile said Wednesday that some previous administrators have been allowed to retire with fringe benefits through the age of 75. But she conceded that lifetime fringe benefits, such as those given in Brownell’s package, are unusual.

Basile also confirmed that Brownell will get a lifetime $150,000 insurance policy from the district: “These insurance policies are given to administrators, and they reflect their annual pay.”

In Brownell’s case, the insurance policy for his retirement package will reflect the increase of his base pay from $93,756 last year to his new salary of $144,000 this fiscal year.

Jarman, president of the union, said teachers in the district “accepted last year that the district couldn’t afford to give us a pay raise. Now, we’re incensed. We’re going back to the bargaining table July 30 for reopeners in our contract.”

Walter G. Howald, president of the district’s board of trustees, said Wednesday that board members believed the retirement package for Brownell was justified because of his work during recent tough economic times.

“I can understand the teachers’ concern,” Howald said. “Last year, the employees of the district cooperated greatly--in essence taking no pay (raise). We’re hopeful that we’ll be able in the future to provide a better economic atmosphere for the employees and students.

“The board was presented a retirement package that the majority of the board felt at the time should be approved, in part of because of contractual obligations and in part because of his favorable service to the district over the last several, fiscally difficult years.”

Brownell became chancellor of the district in 1984, after an election-year upheaval in 1983 that swept out the old majority on the board. Ironically, it was the union that headed that political revolt. Teachers were irate in 1983 that the old board majority had “been wasting money” while trying to lay off 100 teachers because of budget shortages.

Brownell succeeded Norman Watson, who had been Coast Community College District chancellor for 20 years before retiring in 1984. Watson’s base salary upon retirement was $72,500, according to Basile.