When searching for Dr. Joi Lin Blake’s contract, Palomar’s Superintendent, salary and contract agreement, it is a lengthy investigation.
State law is that whenever one is paid with tax payer’s money, the contract must be public. Although it doesn’t state how easy it should be to find, it has to be seen at least somewhere.
One of the tools tax payers can utilize and know where their money is going is TransparentCalifornia.com. The website was created and is ran by the Nevada Policy Research Institution. People have the ability to search any name or job title under two options, salaries and pensions.
When searching Dr. Joi Lin Blake’s salary on the website, her information is out of date and under a different position. Director of Public Affairs, Laura Gropen, pointed to the Exhibit minutes for the August 8, 2017 Governing Board meeting. Exhibits for any meeting includes contracts for Palomar’s faculty and where money is being spent. The August 2017 meeting covered Dr. Blake’s contract for the new year under her new position.
It reads, “Effective July 1, 2017, the District shall pay the Superintendent/President with an annual salary of $248,900 payable in twelve (12) equal monthly payments (hereinafter “base salary”), plus a $117.66 monthly doctoral stipend which is paid in the same amount to all employees in the same class who possess a doctorate.”
Compared to other community colleges in California, Dr. Blake ranks 19th of 66 for highest salary. This does not include the extra benefits Dr. Blake receives.
Dr. Blake’s contract states, “The District shall also provide a cell phone, which may be replaced at the Superintendent/President’s request every two years, together with a monthly stipend in the net amount of $150.00”
In addition, the district also provides Dr. Blake with a monthly transportation allowance that sums up to $1,500 per month, which is sufficient to cover any federal and state income taxes.
Dr. Blake’s contract also grants other benefits like 24 paid vacation days. In addition, Dr. Blake receives 12 sick days. In total, she gets 36 paid non-work days. Which equates to $24,500 of paid non-work days.
In total, Dr. Blake gets paid nearly $269,000 a year, based off of the numbers that can be found. When summed up and compared to the listings on TransparentCalifornia.com of other people with her position at other California community colleges, she ranks 13th out of 66 for highest pay.
The last Superintendent/President at Palomar was Adrian D. Gonzales, who acted as interim superintendent. Gonzalez shows on the TransparentCollege.com website, making $198,000 a year total, with benefits as of 2016.