State hasn't acted on public college perk

Two years after the state Board of Higher Education pledged to scrutinize the generous housing allowances given to most state and community college presidents, it has taken no action.

The majority of the 24 presidents receive a standard $18,000 annual housing allowance on top of their salaries, which average $171,000. The board committed to a study of the allowance in 2005 at the same time it agreed to raise the presidents' salaries to come closer to their peers' pay in other high-cost states.

At the time, some trustees said they were concerned that there were no standards for determining the amount of each presidents' housing allowance; most presidents receive the same amount whether they live in Greater Boston or Western Massachusetts.

The study never happened, board officials say, because they were focused on other priorities, such as boosting graduation rates. Board officials also say they did not have money for the study, which they say would cost up to $250,000. The presidents' pay, meanwhile, has risen an average of 17 percent since fall 2005.

The Legislature is looking at housing allowances and other extras in state employees' compensation packages because former University of Massachusetts president William M. Bulger recently won his bid to incorporate his housing allowance into his pension payments.

Since the Supreme Judicial Court's ruling on Bulger's pension, five current and 10 retired public college presidents have asked the state Board of Retirement to bolster their pensions by including the housing allowance. Later this month, the board may consider their requests; in the case of the retirees, they could get retroactive payments with a favorable ruling.

"Giving housing allowances is an issue we need to address," said state Senator Steven C. Panagiotakos, a Lowell Democrat who is pushing to overhaul the pension system. "My feeling is whatever your salary is is what you get paid."

Officials at the state Board of Higher Education, which acknowledges that it does not set housing allowances based on housing prices in different parts of the state, could not provide information on why the allowance has an $18,000 cap.

Of the 24 state college and community college presidents, 20 have annual housing allowances and two others live on campus. Two presidents, one of whom is an interim, do not have housing allowances.

Nationally, only 20 percent of public and private college presidents receive housing allowances and 28 percent live in university-provided residences, according to a survey of 2,148 presidents last year by the American Council on Education, a higher education public policy association.

State and community college presidents in Massachusetts have been receiving allowances for at least 15 years, according to the oldest records available with the state Board of Higher Education. In 1992, the housing allowance cap was $9,000 a year for community college presidents and $15,000 for state college presidents. The maximum is now $18,000 for both systems.

A few state colleges started offering housing allowances when presidential houses were converted into offices, forcing the presidents off campus, while others used it to sweeten the compensation package in order to attract candidates. The allowance is so widespread in the Bay State that some presidents receive it even if they did not relocate for the post.

Stephen P. Tocco, who was chairman of the Board of Higher Education in 2005, said he and other board members were concerned that the housing allowances were not based on specific standards and did not reflect housing market variations across the state, thus appearing to be extra cash.

"If you are going to keep that benefit, you have to have some standards that are relevant, that reflect some housing market conditions in that region of the state and how [the allowance] will affect a person's pension," said Tocco, who left the board in January and is now chairman of the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees.

The housing allowance study would examine whether to set standards for the allowance, fold it into salaries, or replace it with another benefit. The changes could have led to smaller amounts for some presidents. Tocco said he will review UMass housing allowances.

Aaron D. Spencer, acting board chairman, said he has no plans to pursue the study, contending that the perquisite is good public policy for attracting top leaders to a high-cost state.

College presidents and trustees defend the allowances, saying presidents need the money for mortgages and work-related entertainment in their homes, including dinners with potential donors. State board officials said they did not know whether presidents receiving allowances also seek reimbursement for home events and dinners because individual colleges are responsible for monitoring the spending.

Gail Carberry , president of Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, said her housing allowance is a fair trade-off for having to move within 10 miles of Worcester to take the job last year and to entertain potential donors and others in her home. She said she does the cooking and does not ask for reimbursement.

Carberry has a request pending before the retirement board to add her $15,000 housing allowance to her $143,000 salary so it counts toward her pension. Carberry said she has paid more into the system in the past 30 years than she will ever receive.

Defenders of the perquisite also contend that the money boosts salaries to levels more comparable to private colleges. Wayne Burton, president of North Shore Community College in Danvers, lives about 50 minutes away, in Durham, N.H., and receives an $18,000 housing allowance on top of his $161,453 salary.

"If you suddenly waved a magic wand and took the housing allowance away from president Burton, he wouldn't be paid adequately for the job he's doing," said Philip Freehan, the chairman of the college's trustees.

For different reasons, three state colleges -- the Massachusetts College of Art, Bridgewater State College, and Framingham State College -- have done away with housing allowances in the past four years. Two of the presidents received pay increases equal to the amount of the allowances.

Massachusetts College of Art rolled President Katherine Sloan's housing allowance into her salary. Sloan was not using the allowance to conduct business at home, and most presidents of four-year art schools nationwide don't receive the allowance, although they have higher salaries, said Lark Palermo, chairwoman of the college's trustees.

In August, Bridgewater trustees eliminated Dana Mohler-Faria's housing allowance in favor of moving him into a new president's house on campus, paid for by the college foundation, so he could entertain donors. Mohler-Faria, the governor's special education adviser, had received an allowance even though he stayed in his home 45 minutes away in Mashpee when he took the job in 2002. Trustees said they followed the common statewide practice of giving the perquisite.

But after eliminating the allowance, trustees gave Mohler-Faria a raise worth slightly more than the $18,000 perquisite, boosting his salary to $206,700 . Trustees said they were following the board's guidelines on salaries and gave the raise as a cost-of-living increase and to elevate his salary above the pay of presidents of smaller colleges.

James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com.