Meetings Will Probe Cal State Pay Hike Furor : Controversy: The Board of Trustees takes another look at huge pay raises for Chancellor W. Ann Reynolds and high-ranking staffers. Legislators also express an interest.

The simmering controversy about large and secretive pay raises for top California State University administrators is about to come to a boil this week with a legislative committee hearing and an emergency Board of Trustees meeting on the issue.

Some sources said that W. Ann Reynolds, chancellor of the 20-campus Cal State system, faces possible dismissal this week because of the way pay raises for her and 26 other top Cal State administrators were handled. But other officials said a reprimand and salary rollbacks are more likely.

One knowledgeable source in the Deukmejian Administration said that “more than several” Cal State trustees are discussing a possible vote of no-confidence against Reynolds over the raises--topped by her own 43% increase, to $195,000 a year.

Gov. George Deukmejian, an ex-officio trustee, was said to be very concerned about public perception of profligacy but is not pushing for Reynold’s ouster, according to the source, who asked not to be identified.

A high-ranking state education official, who also requested anonymity, said a move to dismiss Reynolds is a real possibility. He said that some trustees are worried that they have to take dramatic action to avoid long-range interference by the Legislature in governing the university. That assessment was confirmed by a well-informed faculty leader.

On Wednesday in Sacramento, the Assembly Ways and Means education subcommittee is scheduled to consider a proposal by its chairman, Robert J. Campbell (D-Richmond), that would cut the raises to 3.7% and require public hearings on future increases. More worrisome to trustees as possible intrusion into their arena, Campbell’s budget amendment would require a separate budget item for the university’s central administration, which has been lumped with other Cal State costs.

On Thursday at the Oakland Airport Hilton Hotel, a special committee of Cal State trustees is scheduled to discuss the raises and come up with a recommendation to the full Board of Trustees, which is to meet Friday at the same hotel.

Reynolds, a biologist who became chancellor in 1982, does not consider it appropriate to comment on the issues before the trustees’ meetings, said her spokesman, Stephen MacCarthy. Three years ago, Reynolds survived a move to oust her amid charges that she was dictatorial and traveled out of state too often.

Assemblyman Campbell said he joined Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy in fighting against the move to fire Reynolds in 1986. “I would not sign a letter on her behalf today and I would not sign one against her,” Campbell said Monday.

Marianthi Lansdale, chairman of the trustees, did not answer several telephoned requests for an interview. William D. Campbell, trustees’ vice chairman, and J. Gary Shansby, who heads the special committee studying the raises, both declined to discuss the matter, as did several other trustees.

Trustee Ralph R. Pesqueira, a member of the special committee, said: “I am completely unaware that there is any discussion specifically about the termination of any employee.” The crux of the discussion will be about how the raises were awarded, he said.

The discussions could be tense because the trustees themselves last fall authorized Reynolds and Lansdale to make salaries for the chancellor, vice chancellors and campus presidents more competitive nationally. The specifics of the raises were not discussed publicly until The Times revealed them in a December article as ranging from 21% to 43%, bringing pay to $150,000 for executive vice chancellor Herbert L. Carter, $145,000 for vice chancellors and $130,000 for campus presidents. At a time when top professors’ pay increased 4.8% to $58,100, faculty and legislators reacted with outrage.

Some trustees were surprised by the criticism and feel they received bad advice from Reynolds and her staff, according to the source in the Deukmejian Administration.

In addition, lawmakers demanded an explanation for the university’s purchase of six cars, with take-home privileges, for vice chancellors. Legislators were suspicious that the total bill for the Ford Taurus models was just below the $100,000 ceiling that triggers state Department of Finance review. Although insisting there was no attempt to get around state rules, the university later ordered the cars returned to the general auto pool.

Pressure for at least some rollback of the raises grew as legislators learned that, in addition to her Cal State salary and the right to live rent-free in a Bel-Air estate, Reynolds earned more than $90,000 in the past year by serving on four corporate boards: Abbott Laboratories, Maytag Corp., American Electric Power Co. and General Telephone of California. Leaders of many large universities have similar corporate ties.

Reynolds’ supporters say the raises are merited, given the size of the Cal State system, with its 360,000 students and $2-billion annual budget. In comparison to Reynolds’ new salary of $195,000, UC system President David P. Gardner earns $230,600.