The terms of Gavilan College President Steve Kinsella’s four-year contract were obtained by the Dispatch Tuesday describing the details of his $42,000 salary increase, which includes 24 days of paid vacation each year and a $1,000 monthly expense allowance.
Beginning Jan. 1 2012, Kinsella’s salary will bump from $234,090 to $255,090 and it will increase by a total of $42,000 to $276,090 by 2015 as described in his contract dated Oct. 26.
Kinsella will also receive a lump sum of $31,500 if he remains employed with Gavilan College as of Dec. 31, 2015 when his contract expires.
His expense allowance and number of vacation days are identical to his previous contract, which was approved May 10 and had a lifespan from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2015 until it was updated in a 6-to-1 vote during a special Gavilan College School Board meeting Oct. 26. His previous contract outlined a 3 percent pay increase annually until 2015. Kinsella’s salary will increase by about 9 percent starting in 2012.Â
The four-year contract comes as an incentive for Kinsella, who was named a finalist in the search for a new chancellor of the West Valley-Mission Community College District.
The WVMCCD has two main campuses located in Santa Clara and Saratoga, serving a total 40,000 people a year. In Fall 2010, about 7,500 attended the Saratoga location. Gavilan’s student head count for Fall 2011 is 6,401.
Kinsella, who has been president of Gavilan College since the end of 2002, has officially withdrawn from candidacy for the chancellor position at WVMCCD, according to Bernstein-Chargin. She also noted in her press release Kinsella’s new contract allows him to opt-out of the district’s health insurance plan, which would be a savings for Gavilan.
The Gavilan College Board of Trustees hires and makes the determination to terminate the president’s contract. In the contract, it states termination can be done with or without cause at its discretion.