‘Personal Matter’ Settled: Jeffery Gets $250K for Retirement
On Oct. 7, the Board of Trustees approved a $250,000 post-retirement supplemental income plan for Santa Monica College’s (SMC) President and Superintendent, Dr. Kathryn Jeffery, amid a multi-year structural deficit.
In a unanimous vote, the Board of Trustees ratified an amendment to Jeffery’s employment agreement, which provides her with medical benefits afforded to academic retirees with 10 years of district service and two paid 30-day sabbaticals in addition to the $250,000 post-retirement income plan.
SMC will evenly distribute $250,000 over five years, following Jeffery’s retirement in December 2026. According to Tuesday’s Board of Trustees’ meeting agenda, the money is “in recognition of the below-market salary earned by the Superintendent/President.”
The proposed amendment passed through the consent agenda along with a group of non-controversial items, which were voted on as a block. Before the vote, the Board of Trustees listened to public comment on the amendment.
During the meeting, Academic Senate President Dr. Vicenta Arrizon said, It’s a deeply stressful time for the college community, tightened by news of Jeffery’s employment agreement and the budget reductions that directly affect the students.
To maintain fiscal stability, SMC has cut $8.6 million from the budget, but still requires an additional $14.8 million in budget actions to ensure a 5% fund balance in 2026. The 2025-2026 Proposed Adopted Budget presentation states that the college curtailed counseling and classes by 5%, reduced faculty and consolidated positions on campus as of September.
During September’s Board of Trustees’ meeting, Vice President of Business and Administration Chris Bonvenuto, who oversees SMC’s fiscal stability, stressed the importance of curtailing the budget. “We don’t have time anymore to wait,” Bonvenuto said.
According to Bonvenuto, Jeffery’s post-retirement income plan was developed between the board and the president, with no involvement from him. It’s a “personal matter between the board and the president,” Bonvenuto said.
Critics of Jeffery’s post-retirement plan raised concerns about the optics, long-term financial strain and the effect on students during public comment. “We are in a structural deficit, yet the proposed contract amendments introduce long-term liabilities without a fair cost-benefit framework,” said Joan Kang, a SMC senior career services advisor who’s “deeply concerned about institutional direction and priorities.”
“The optics of approving a supplemental compensation package and two sabbaticals during a deficit sends a wrong message, especially while departments face cuts, students lose access to classes and staff have waited years for a meaningful staffing plan. CSEA is still waiting for the district to honor the me too clause provision on wages. Optics matters. Those decisions reduce our financial and operational flexibility at a time we need them most,” Kang said.
Only a few people spoke during the public comment section of the Board of Trustees meetings due to ongoing contract negotiations. Cindy Ordaz, the Chief Negotiator of the California School Employees Association, spoke as a representative for her union members.
Ordaz raised concerns over the Board of Trustees' decision to instruct the district’s negotiating team not to authorize any wage increases, SMC’s hiring freeze and declining enrollment. According to Ordaz, administrators received $8 million in raises over the last three years, with many set to retire soon.
“Meanwhile, we are still waiting on the completion of an ed plan. We’re still waiting on a meaningful staffing plan. Still waiting for resources, for resource decisions tied to actual priorities,” said Ordaz, during the Board of Trustees’ meeting.
“We’ve had to cut classes and counseling hours, and the lowest employees at this college, or classified staff, are told that we cannot be afforded. That’s not a bit of a budget issue, that doesn’t seem like one, that sounds like a value issue, and you can’t say that we’re at a $14 million deficit and then approve financial perks for the highest paid employee at this institution,” Ordaz said.
The Corsair reached out to Jeffery for an interview, but the request was declined.
According to the state controller’s website, Government Compensation in California, Jeffery isn’t only the highest-earning worker at SMC, but one of the most profitable college district employees in the state. Out of the 39 districts that reported, she’s at No. 20.
In 2024, Jeffery earned $362,680 in regular pay, $24,000 in “other pay” and $111,797 in cost of employer and retirement benefits, totaling $498,478, according to Transparent California, the state’s largest public pay and pension database.
“You can continue approving spending that deepens our crisis and widens the gap between management and the workers who keep the college running, or you can say no, not tonight, not this time,” said Ordaz to the Board of Trustees before they passed the amendment. “Not when our frontline workers are still waiting for fairness, respect, and the bare minimum contract compliance. We are all watching, and our members are paying attention.”