PCC teachers earn nearly $4 million in bonus pay

More than 200 Pasadena City College teachers earned five-figure bonuses for extra work last year, with payments of as much as $70,000 raising some teachers’ incomes beyond those of top administrators, according to salary records released by the school.

The highest teacher’s salary was $196,050, a PCC paycheck second only to that of college President Mark Rocha, whose $261,845 in 2011 income included a one-time moving stipend.Twenty-seven other full-time teachers earned between $140,000 and $174,000 last year, though all but eight had base salaries below $100,000.

The salary data was released during a tense PCC Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday where students protested elimination of classes due to budget cuts.

Several students who voiced criticism of the school’s administrative and facilities spending said their teachers had encouraged them to demonstrate. Some were upset to hear that instructors were making extra money while condemning budget cuts.

“That makes me angry,” said student Olivia Hulett of South Pasadena. “There’s a conflicting message.”

College trustee Jeanette Mann said this week was the first time board members had seen a complete accounting of salaries.

“Some faculty, when you add the cost of their benefits, are making well over $200,000 a year, which to me is quite shocking,” said Mann. “I think it changes the nature of the [budget] dialogue.”

Roger Marheine, an assistant English professor and head of the Pasadena City College Faculty Association, said he suspects the release of salary information was timed to deflect criticism of the administration as negotiations are about to begin for a new contract with the teacher’s union.

PCC General Counsel Gail Cooper, who prepared the salary data, said it was released in response to three public records requests, including one from the state Controller’s Office.

Rocha denied seeking an advantage in labor negotiations, but said faculty concerns about contract negotiations “could be behind some of what’s inciting some of the [student] protests.”

The contract that expires June 30 provides several ways for full-time teachers to earn five-figure bonuses.

About 160 of the school’s nearly 400 fulltime faculty members received more than $10,000 in “overload” pay for teaching extra classes on top of already full semester schedules. The college paid more than $3.9 million for overload assignments last year to full- and part-time faculty, according to the records.

“Teachers haven’t gotten a raise for years,” said Marheine. “The administration said that if you want more money, work more overload.”

Faculty members also collected “large-group instruction” pay for teaching high-enrollment classes or for allowing additional students to join classes already considered at capacity.

Full-time faculty members also can earn stipends for teaching during summer or winter inter-sessions.

William Foster, an associate professor of visual arts and media studies, became PCC’s No. 2 wage-earner at $196,050 by earning $76,263 in income beyond his $119,787 base salary. Adding in health, pension and other benefits, Foster received compensation of nearly $233,000 last year.

Earning $174,679 last year, Social Sciences Associate Prof. Julie Kiotis ranked second among faculty and sixth among PCC wage earners. She made $70,000 in overload and other additional payments. Including benefits, her total compensation exceeded $211,000.

“If I make $170,000 a year, it’s because I’m teaching 20 classes a year. Students need classes. They don’t need vice presidents,” Kiotis said, echoing a chant repeated during the student protest.

Faculty support for student protests was about “saving programs and classes,” she said.

Administrators have the power to reject teacher requests to earn the bonuses, but that power was not often exercised in the past, according to Rocha. Rocha said he has cut back on the number of teachers who are allowed to increase their paychecks by teaching extra classes or increasing their class sizes.

Hiring a tenured professor to teach an overload class costs the college “roughly double the rate of hiring a fully-qualified part-time teacher,” said Rocha.

Rejecting the overload class requests mean classes stay smaller. But smaller class sizes mean some students can’t get into the classes they need in order to graduate, students say.

“They used to allow [student] overflow,” said Jennifer Piskel, 23, who has not been able to enroll in a psychology class that she needs. “Spending all day waiting in classes only to be told to leave is frustrating.”

Joe Piasecki, joe.piasecki@latimes.com