Cal Poly admits error, says administrative pay actually rose in 2015

Cal Poly said it actually spent $93,000 more on administrative salaries in October 2015 compared with October 2014 — and not $71,000 less, as it reported in mid-February.

The university error occurred when entering salary information for some employees into an accounting system, and in tallying transfers and replacements of some employees. In all, pay relating to 14 positions was incorrectly calculated as part of the breakdown initially released to The Tribune last month.

Cal Poly said it has corrected the report to reflect the $164,000 math error.

“We apologize for this error and any confusion it may cause,” President Jeff Armstrong wrote in an email sent to The Tribune.

The university had 21 more management positions in October 2015 compared with the same month the year before.

Cal Poly did not provide information on the total cost of management salaries and benefits for October 2015 or October 2014 numbers. The $93,000 increase was calculated by looking at changes in management job classifications — new positions, replacements, retirements and reclassified jobs — said Chris Murphy, Cal Poly’s executive director of communications.

Total management salary and benefit costs for the 2014-15 fiscal year was $33.6 million for 245 total management positions, he said.

Cal Poly officials initially said the university had saved $71,000 on management salaries through retirements and departures of some high level managers, which left positions open for awhile. The university now says that even with those retirements and open positions, management costs actually rose by $93,000 from October 2014 to October 2015.

Cal Poly’s faculty union, which is threatening a strike over stalled negotiations on a pay raise, has been critical of the university’s increased spending on administrative pay since Armstrong came aboard in 2010-2011.

Graham Archer, Cal Poly’s faculty union president, said the $93,000 increase in management salary year-over-year was a small amount compared with a significantly larger, overall increase in the past six years.

“And the fact that they increased the number of administrators by 21 this year tells me they don’t have a handle on administrative bloat,” said Archer, adding that he thought $93,000 understated the true cost of 21 new positions.

The university’s California Faculty Association chapter is requesting salary information from the California State University Chancellor’s Office and plans to calculate management costs on its own.

“Frankly, it’s a really difficult job to keep track of administrators,” Archer said. “They’re like bunnies. They keep on breeding. I feel like that number ($93,000) could actually be a lot higher, maybe even $1 million.”

In the past six years, Cal Poly has raised spending on management salaries and benefits by about $10 million and increased management positions by about 50 percent, univerity officials said.

Armstrong said that of the 66 administrators hired between 2010 and 2014, 74 percent were lower level positions with an average salary of $75,098. Almost half were filled by promoted faculty or staff, and 44 percent were funded by gifts and grants.

Armstrong said the revised figure of $93,000 in additional spending for October 2015 compared with the previous year is accurate and that the management positions help serve student and campus needs.

“To be clear, the hiring decisions regarding these (management) employees are not made centrally and in many cases the colleges/departments pay for these positions from within their own budgets,” Armstrong said.

As for the union’s position that too many management positions have been added in the past five years, Armstrong said, “Looking only at 2010-11 to 2015-16 presents a skewed picture. In 2010-11, the university was hardest hit by the Great Recession and was at its lowest point in numbers of employees — with (management) being one of the most impacted groups.”

The faculty is seeking a 5 percent raise and the California State University administration is offering a 2 percent raise. If an agreement can’t be reached after a fact-finding report is released, the union is prepared to hold a five-day teachers’ strike at all 23 CSU campuses in April.

Cal Poly officials cite a $3.5 million discretionary pay raise given to faculty and staff over a four-year period as part of its commitment, and note a $1.1 million allocation, or 30 percent, of the compensation increase faculty and staff received from the CSU in 2014.

This story was originally published March 2, 2016 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Cal Poly admits error, says administrative pay actually rose in 2015."