Two months after appointing Lou Anne Bynum as the interim superintendent-president of the Long Beach Community College District, the board of trustees could extend that contract and tack on a $48,000 raise for the year.
The board is scheduled to discuss the item during its evening meeting on Wednesday, May 27, where it could approve an amendment to Bynum’s contract that would extend it to March 14, 2021 and give her a $4,000 bump in monthly compensation.
Bynum’s original contract was set to expire in September and pay her a total compensation of $120,000 when accounting for benefits. If approved, the amended contract would pay her $288,000.
The board appointed Bynum in mid-March after the abrupt firing of former Superintendent-President Reagan Romali. At that emergency meeting the board noted that a possible extension of Bynum’s contract could come as soon as August if both parties agreed.
Possibly extending Bynum’s contract and issuing a $48,000 raise comes weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California was facing a $53.4 billion shortfall, which could have severe impacts on education budgets across the state.
According to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office the governor’s May-revision removed about $1.5 billion from community college budgets, which is equivalent to the losses sustained between 2007 and 2012, the peak of the Great Recession.
Board President Vivian Malauulu and Bynum did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
If the board approves Bynum’s contract extension and pay increase, she would not be the only Long Beach education leader to have received a salary bump during the pandemic. Last week, the Long Beach Unified School District approved a 4-year contact for its incoming superintendent Jill Baker, which included a $58,000 annual increase over her predecessor, Chris Steinhauser.
The district’s legal counsel attributed this to Steinhauser having declined raises in previous years.
The LBCC board’s scheduled meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be streamed through the college’s YouTube channel, which can be accessed here.