The Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees is set to confirm the appointment of Mike Munoz as its next superintendent-president Wednesday evening and approve a new contract that will pay him $305,000 annually.
Munoz, who has worked at the college since 2018, had served in an interim role over the past eight months but the board announced last week that it would appoint him to the permanent position this week.
The contract posted to the board’s agenda for Wednesday will make Munoz the superintendent-president through at least June 30, 2025, unless Munoz and the college decide to part ways before then. His term as the school’s new leader will begin Jan. 1.
His salary will make him the highest-paid superintendent-president at LBCC since Eloy Oakley had his contract amended in 2015, when the board converted parts of his benefits to base-pay in a controversial move that also propped up Oakley’s pensionable salary.
Oakley made just over $325,000 in base salary before leaving the college to become the chancellor of the entire California Community College system.
Numerous other community colleges across the state pay their superintendent-presidents between $300,000 and $400,000 in annual salary with benefits and other pay, often pushing their total contract value up by more than $100,000.
When it hired its former superintendent-president Regan Romali, the board originally approved a contract that paid her $250,000 annually before agreeing in August 2018 to extend her contract for four more years and raise her base salary to $275,625.
The board fired Romali in March 2020 with Romali and the board trading accusations of improprieties.
Lou Anne Bynum, who served a year as an interim superintendent-president before Munoz took over, was paid $20,000 per month before the board approved a $48,000 raise for Bynum in May 2020. Bynum’s pay was increased to over $280,000 annually before she eventually decided to part ways with the college over a separate contract dispute.
Munoz’s new contract amounts to a $35,000 annual raise in salary, not including benefits, that could be awarded to him in the new contract.
These include the college paying for or reimbursing Munoz for any memberships required for him to represent the college and related travel expenses as well as a $500 per month automobile allowance.
Munoz could also be granted a one-time relocation benefit of $5,000, according to the contract.
The LBCCD Board of Trustees is scheduled to hold its final meeting of the year Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 5:30 p.m. when it will vote on Munoz’s proposed contract. The meetings are broadcast on the college’s YouTube channel.