Should Louisiana’s interim higher-education commissioner be making $25,000 a month—plus $1,500 a month for housing and $600 for a car? The state legislature’s Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget will answer that question Thursday when the contract between the Board of Regents and the interim commissioner, Tom Layzell, comes up for a vote. Already Rep. Jim Fannin, the committee chairman, has said the pay package seems excessive for an interim chief, according to the Associated Press. And the vice chairman, Sen. Mike Michot, said, “The Legislature and the public are really at the point now that they’re questioning the kind of high salaries and that people aren’t taking any pay cuts and making any sacrifices of their own” while institutions are laying off professors and staff members. The controversy comes just two months after Sally Clausen resigned as higher-education commissioner after admitting that she had quietly retired from her post and then been rehired in order to collect a lump-sum payment for unused vacation and sick leave.
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4 Responses to Salary for Interim Commissioner Raises Eyebrows in Louisiana
honore - August 11, 2010 at 11:36 am
apparently hurricane Katrina did not wash away all the rats nests
velvis - August 11, 2010 at 4:16 pm
The starting salary for a low ranking prof in louisiana is $45,000, many of whom are afraid of losing their jobs. – he makes that in 6 weeks. I make about 9k in stipends from a random university in louisiana – he makes that in about 8 days.Totally fair! Actually he should get more. The funny part is that some universities in this state are cutting the Higher Ed degrees…so I guess he’ll have awesome job security too.
la_profesora - August 11, 2010 at 5:11 pm
That’s about $325,000 a year, which, while it seems a lot to me personally (I think I could live pretty well on it!) does not seem like a lot for a statewide education official when you consider university presidents routinely make similar salaries. By comparison, city managers also often make $200-300K, and school district superintendants generally make over $200,000.The fact that it seems like such a lot to us only tells you how ridiculously low faculty salaries (even tenured) are in comparison to similar jobs in other sectors. Starting salary for an assistant school principal in my state (a job which only requires a Master’s degree) is $80,000. Not too many assistant professors are starting at that.
profmomof1 - August 12, 2010 at 11:58 am
In a state that just laid off a large number of professors, and eliminated popular degree programs and departments due to alledged financial difficulties — with plans for another round of layoffs and program eliminations this year — this salary is unethical and obscene.