$20K bonus for Hart in new contract

Over seven months after the Board of Regents approved retaining Northern Marianas College president Dr. Sharon Y. Hart for another two years, her new contract was finally signed last week, under similar terms but with a $20,000 bonus thrown in.

According to board chair Frank Rabauliman, the contract terms emphasize stability at the college.

“Stability at the executive level of the college is important to sustain the continued momentum of the significant work that has been done up until this point. The board has recognized, and through these efforts, demonstrated how important continued leadership is for the institution,” Rabauliman told Saipan Tribune.

The board unanimously voted in April to extend Hart’s employment contract for two years. Her contract expired in July 5, 2013.

Saipan Tribune learned that Hart and Rabauliman formally signed the new contract last Wednesday on campus.

The new contract provides terms and conditions similar to Hart’s old contract, giving her $80,000 per annum, a car allowance, and leave benefits.

Rabauliman confirmed that included in the new agreement is a $20,000 bonus that the board approved for her.

“Except for a bonus, the terms and conditions of the Northern Marianas College president’s contract have not changed materially from those stipulated for the first two years of president Hart’s term. The new contract provides for a $20,000 bonus,” said the chairman.

According to Rabauliman, former board chair Juan Lizama was originally tasked with negotiating the president’s contract and continued to lead contract negotiations after the election of new BOR officers, with Lizama appointed to head the BOR Personnel Committee.

“When I became chair, one of my priorities was to bring resolution to the pending negotiation of the president’s contract. It was important to ensure that this issue be resolved before our meeting with the accrediting commission in January,” said Rabauliman.

He said the NMC board conducts an annual evaluation of the president and the results of the evaluation were taken into account in setting the new contract. At the same time, the board also took into account Hart’s accomplishments in meeting institutional goals and progress in addressing outstanding accreditation issues.

According to Rabauliman, the average base salary for presidents of NMC’s peer institutions, which includes Guam Community College, was $150,000 a year ago. The mean base salary for community college CEOs in the nation is about $174,000, according to a salary study conducted by the American Association of Community Colleges in 2012.

In the same study, it was determined that the median total tenure in CEO positions was 8 years and the mean was 9 years. Hart has been a community college CEO for a total of 12 years.

“The salary of the NMC president has not changed since the 1990s, and the board sees a need for an adjustment in the salary, not only to be able to retain effective leadership and talent, but also to bring the college closer to the level of compensation that is provided to presidents by our peer institutions,” said Rabauliman, adding that this is the only increase the president has received since she took the helm of the college two and half years ago.

Meantime, Hart indicated that maintaining the college’s accreditation remains her key priority over the next several months.

“We continue to engage the whole campus community in addressing the accreditation issues that were raised by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges,” said Hart. “We are also being proactive and strategic, and we are doing everything that we possibly can to ensure that this institution continues to play a central role in educating students and in meeting workforce needs.”

According to Hart, “NMC plays an important role in the local economy, so it’s in the CNMI’s best interest that the college continues to remain accredited.”

“The college is an economic engine for growth and development. Research clearly shows that the more educated a state or U.S. territory is, the stronger that economy becomes,” added Hart.