By NOELLA WYATT
I hope everyone took the opportunity to read the article that the administration wrote in response to the State Auditor’s letter “regarding the allocation of administrative support costs to the Services and Activities fee fund.” In the second and third paragraphs of the University’s response, it reads: “Since 2011, CWU has allocated administrative support costs to self-support programs that utilize these services. This fee pays for services required to operate the various programs.
Examples of services include accounts payable, travel, purchasing, contract management, payroll, human resources, mail, and information technology.”
“Prior to the allocation of the administrative support costs, the university had funded all of these services out of the state operating general fund. This account is comprised of state funds and is the primary source of staff and faculty salaries. In 2009, the state reduced funding for the university by 30 percent, a cut taken from the university’s general fund.”
Most of us remember quite well all of the discussion when the Board of Trustees agreed, in a closed meeting, to give President Gaudino a $500,000 bonus if he stayed at Central for five more years. It would be an understatement to say that the decision was not warmly received by the University community or, for that matter, the local community. Out of curiosity, I checked a website that lists all of the salaries and job titles for the state of Washington (http://lbloom.net/). On that site you can select any Washington State employer from 1995 up to 2011 in two-year increments. If you look at CWU for 2009 and 2011, you can see who has received raises in those two years, including President Gaudino and his Chief of Staff Sherer Holter. From 2009 to 2011, President Gaudino’s salary increased from $289,992 to $302,850, which is an increase of $12,858. That doesn’t take into consideration that he has free housing and other ‘perks’ of the position. Sherer Holter’s salary went from $104,544 in 2009 to $131,429 in 2011, which is an increase of $26,885. You can check my salary, but if you are wanting me to adopt you so that you can live the high life, my annual salary of $34,302 won’t get us too far. ISN’T THERE A SALARY FREEZE or is that only for staff?????
It seems to me that if the University is rich enough to “promise” the President a $500,000 incentive bonus for staying another five years, then there should be funding enough to cover “the state reduced funding for the university by 30 percent, a cut taken from the university’s general fund.” If all accounting was transparent, which it is not, I have been told that interest is being paid on the funds ($500,000) that supposedly do NOT yet exist. The S&A funds should not need to be used for administrative support if the university’s general fund was managed wisely and not spent on inflated salaries.
PS: Have fun checking salaries.
