State rips Broward College payout
Outgoing chief to get $381,000 plus benefits
Broward College failed to give a valid reason why President David Armstrong will be paid his full $381,000 salary for a year after he steps down in June, the state’s auditor general has determined.
A new audit report recommends against paying him the full sum, which comes to $421,000 after benefits are added. But the college disagrees, saying the expense “will prove its worth over time.” It’s unclear whether the state Department of Education, which sometimes withholds funding to schools following the auditor general’s findings, will intervene.
Armstrong, who was hired as president in 2007, announced in December he would step down June 30. A few months before his announcement, he reached a deal with the Board of Trustees to take a sabbatical for a year before his official retirement. That contract contained no specific duties, other than to be available to advise the Board of Trustees and next president.
After the South Florida Sun Sentinel questioned the deal, the college created a full-time president emeritus job description for Armstrong, with expanded duties such as outreach to the business community and the state Legislature.
But he’ll still have much less to do in his new role and should be paid less, auditors said, without listing a specific amount. Auditors asked the college to provide records justifying the large salary, but the college did not respond, the report says.
“Absent records to support the basis for maintaining the president’s compensation at the same rate after he assumes the position of president emeritus, the public purpose served for the board’s decision is not readily apparent,” the report says.
The college disagrees with the auditor general’s findings, saying there is “no supporting statute, rule, regulation or best practice
documentation to support their conclusion.”
“We believe having a president who has served 10 years with the institution retained for a year to achieve a seamless transition is an industry best practice,” Chief Financial Officer Jayson Irloff wrote in response. “The board believes that the value of services to be provided will far exceed the cost to the college.”
Others disagree. Several education and government watchdogs slammed the deal, calling it an expensive parting gift.
After the Sun Sentinel’s initial report, House Speaker Richard Corcoran tried to slash the college’s funding by $381,000, the exact amount of Armstrong’s annual salary.
“The speaker believes arrangements like the one at Broward College should not be the practice in public institutions,” a spokesman for Corcoran said at the time.
That cut wasn’t part of the final budget approved by the Legislature.
Despite the criticism, the Board of Trustees stood by the decision, saying Armstrong’s continued service will be of great value to Broward College.
“I don’t think we’ll see him seven days a week, like now. He’s not going to give me 100 hours a week,” John Benz, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said in February. “But I’m going to hold him to it.
“The board needs him. The new president needs him. And this facilitates that Broward College doesn’t lose a step.”
The board hopes to hire the next president by May.