BENTONVILLE — The president of NorthWest Arkansas Community College and a member of its Board of Trustees are at odds over how closely the board should monitor the school’s budget.
Trustee Johnny Haney told Northwest Arkansas Newspapers last week the nine-member board should look more closely at how the college in Bentonville spends its money. President Becky Paneitz said those issues should remain in top administrators’ hands.
The disagreement comes in the wake of a state investigation into pay increases at the community college. Kay Terry, personnel administrator at the state Department of Finance and Administration, issued a letter to the college on Oct. 12, saying 17 of 32 pay increases given after July 1 were invalid. Terry said the payments should end immediately and that the money already paid should be returned to the college.
Mark Scott, the college’s executive director of public relations, said the increases weren’t raises but stem from additional duties, job evaluations and promotions.
The letter from Terry also states 14 of the 32 pay increases were valid. One increase remains under review.
Since then, the Finance Department reviewed additional information from the college and whittled the 17 invalid raises to seven, according to a statement Friday afternoon from the college and state department. The additional pay given without authorization to college employees is $9,809.66 and will be repaid, according to the statement.
The state also is examining the college’s entire payroll. Terry said she expects the results by the end of October.
Haney said the state investigation underscores the need for more board scrutiny into how the college spends money.
“I think this is a good example of how (the board) needs to involve ourselves more in the entire budget process,” Haney said.
Paneitz said strict budgetary oversight is not the responsibility of the board, which meets monthly.
“The board is a policy-governance model,” she said last week. “They set policy, and we as the administration execute those policies. This issue is well on the way to being resolved, and I think we’ll all learn from it, but it’s something for the administration to handle.”
Coleman Peterson, president of the board of trustees, has said the board approves only Paneitz’s salary, not those of other college employees.
The state began an investigation into the college’s payroll after Northwest Arkansas Newspapers reported the college this summer gave pay increases to 32 employees, despite a May 26 state memorandum freezing all state employee salaries.
State Finance Director Richard Weiss issued the memorandum freezing salaries effective July 1. It went to all state agencies, boards, commissions and to the presidents and chancellors of state-funded colleges and universities.
NorthWest Arkansas Community College gave the pay increases after July 1, records show.
Salary Comparisons
State Sen. Jimmy Jeffress, D-Crossett, said he is concerned that colleges nationwide are spending money to bulk up administrations rather than to improve student services.
“If the taxpayers were aware of that, they’d be up in arms,” said Jeffress, chairman of the Senate Education Committee and a member of the Joint Budget Committee.
Jeffress said $326,943 in annual salaries for the six people who work in college relations and communications at NorthWest Arkansas Community College is “extremely hard to swallow.”
He said the salaries are an example of why he wants to repeal Amendment 33 of the Arkansas Constitution, which gives college and university trustees authority to oversee school policy without interference from state government.
Jeffress said he instead wants an independent board created to oversee spending at colleges and universities.
Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock pays four employees who handle public relations and marketing $192,442 annually, documents show. Pulaski Tech has a student enrollment of 11,213. The enrollment at NorthWest Arkansas Community College is 8,450.
“If other schools with a larger student body can do (college relations and communications) for less, then why can’t they?” Jeffress asked.
Pulaski Tech also pays administrators less. The college in central Arkansas pays vice presidents $9,000 to $25,000 less than those in similar positions at the Bentonville college. Paneitz and Pulaski Tech President Dan Bakke each earn $161,821 annually, according to documents.
Pulaski Tech and NorthWest Arkansas Community College are the largest two-year colleges in Arkansas.
Jeffress, a retired teacher, said salaries at NorthWest Arkansas Community College are interesting because college representatives often approach legislators requesting more money for the school. The Legislature convenes again in January.
“It’s always, ‘I would like to have more,’” Jeffress said. “They should use their resources better.”
Scott said the college relations and communications salaries amount to just 2 percent of the school’s $23.2 million salary budget.
“We don’t feel overpaid,” he said.
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By The Numbers
Salary Comparison
College Relations and Communications Salaries at NWACC
Employee Title Salary
Adam Arroyos Vice President of College Relations $114,000
Mark Scott Executive Director of Public Relations $70,000
David Bradley Interim Strategic Initiatives Coordinator $32,435
Rob Hanlon Director of Marketing $48,500
Cheryl Wagner Administrative Assistant $25,639
Tara Berry Marketing Webmaster and Designer $36,369
TOTAL $326,943
College Relations and Communications Salaries at Pulaski Tech
Employee Title Salary
Tim Jones Director of Public Relations and Marketing $60,935
Tracy Courage Communications/Special Events Coordinator $51,354
Lennon Parker Web Communications Specialist $38,713
Amy Green Creative Services Manager, Graphic Artist $49,440
TOTAL $192,442