SBCC President Andreea Serban has been placed on paid administrative leave after a 5-0 decision early Friday from the Board of Trustees.
Noozhawk confirmed that Serban’s paid leave starts immediately, and that Vice President Jack Friedlander is now the college’s acting president.
Friedlander can serve as the college’s acting president for only 30 days, however, and then the board must appoint an interim president — all while conducting a search for a permanent candidate.
Trustee Marty Blum told Noozhawk that Serban, who is paid $215,000 annually, will be on paid leave through June 30, 2012. After that, “we have to buy her out of her contract,” said Blum, adding that because Serban’s contract continued until 2014, she’ll receive payment for 18 months in a lump sum. If Serban accepts a job elsewhere before that, the contract ends, according to Blum.
When asked about the board having to pay twice for the president’s position once a new hire is made, Blum said the board considered all options.
“It was a very serious discussion,” she said. “It took us a long time to figure out what we wanted to do, and frankly, this seems to be the best thing.”
She said she hopes the school can use a search firm and conduct a national search for a new president.
Serban could not be reached for comment.
“The trustees were able to reach an understanding with Dr. Serban that dealt with the differences that have arisen, recognized the important work that she has done for the college and honored her contract,” said attorney Craig Price, who is representing the college. “Hopefully, it will be viewed as the kind of balanced result that so many people in the community wanted to see come out of this situation.”
Friday morning’s decision was 5-0, with board members Morris Jurkowitz absent and Joan Livingston abstaining.
The board was in the midst of conducting its first evaluation of Serban under a new majority elected last November. Since then, the relationship has continued to fray and has become the source of more speculation as discussions have drawn out.
The decision comes as the school faces tough financial straits in the coming year. Gov. Jerry Brown announced in January that $400 million would be stripped from state community college budgets, and he announced in June that millions of dollars more in reimbursements would be delayed.
Earlier this month, the SBCC Board of Trustees faced accusations that it had violated the Brown Act by failing to reveal Serban’s evaluation. Concern was raised by the advocacy group Take Back SBCC about the school’s accreditation and stated that the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges will visit the campus this fall.
“When the accrediting commission decides to pay a visit, they are demonstrating an extreme concern about what has been reported and verified to them,” Ray O’Connor, president of Take Back SBCC, told the board earlier this month.
Earlier this year, Serban was named a finalist for the presidency of Mount San Antonio College in Walnut. She later announced she had decided to remain at SBCC because of an outpouring of support from the community.
“More than ever, the college needs stability in leadership in order to deal effectively with the major fiscal challenges ahead,” she said then. “I am here to lead the college and continue our successful and collaborative work with our faculty, staff, students and community. My focus is on the success of our students and college, service to our community and the fiscal stability of the college.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk or @NoozhawkNews. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.
