TCC Board approves nearly perfect evaluation of President Murdaugh, OKs new budget
Tallahassee Community College’sBoard of Trustees approved a glowing evaluation of President Jim Murdaugh during meeting this week for his 2023-2024 academic school year performance.
With nearly a perfect score of all five ratings on a scale from one to five — with one indicating things Murdaugh needs to work on and five highlighting his strengths — the board expressed their confidence in Murdaugh’s leadership of TCC, which will officially be known as Tallahassee State College as of July 1.
“I appreciate it and it's very humbling,” Murdaugh told the Tallahassee Democrat. “I'm grateful to be able to do the work that I do and that I'm a part of.”
The Board of Trustees' Presidential Evaluation Sub-Committee met May 20 ahead of its full board meeting to review and discuss Murdaugh's performance and compensation.
Murdaugh received perfect ratings in the overarching categories of organizational strategy, communication, collaboration, community college advocacy and professionalism.
“Nobody — particularly a president — does this work alone, so it's really a reflection on the quality of all the folks here at the college,” Murdaugh said.
Other TCC news: TCC will add eight new associate degree programs in fall 2024 to meet local talent demands
In a category about Murdaugh’s support for the development, improvement and increased program of studies for instructional divisions, one of the trustees referred to TCC’s $750,000 investment that reorganized the college's academic divisions with a focus on STEM, associate of science degrees and other Career and Technical Education programs.
The only section where Murdaugh received an anonymous four rating from a trustee among fives was in “encouraging the proper maintenance of the college facility and the development of new and expanded facilities.”
When it comes to creating a work atmosphere that encourages high morale and maximizes individual performance, a trustee said Murdaugh is “second to none.”
In addition, an evaluation about how Murdaugh articulates the goals and qualities of the college to the community led onea trustee to express that “Jim is a great advocate for the college.”
“His leadership shown bright during the extensive branding assessment process and approval,” that trustee said.
TCC’s rebranding efforts were announced last August, and in March, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation to make the name change from TCC to TSC official in state law.
The goal of the renaming is to have it match the college’s increased national recognition. More than 60% of its students come from outside of TCC’s service district of Leon, Gadsden and Wakulla counties.
“The president has brought national prestige to the college — making it one of the top in the nation,” a trustee said. “His leadership is invaluable as we move from TCC to TSC.”
Complimentary evaluation, but no change in salary
While Murdaugh’s compensation was being reviewed and discussed during the May 20 sub-committee meeting, he reminded Board Chair Jonathan Kilpatrick and Vice Chair Karen Moore that he only receives a pay increase if the staff receives one, according to the meeting minutes.
Since an across-the-board salary increase has not been implemented this year, Murdaugh’s base salary will remain the same as last year — $325,149.
“In my contract, I only get a pay raise if we're able to give everybody pay raises,” Murdaugh told the Democrat. “We're not going to be able to give pay raises July 1, but maybe later in the year if we're able.”
At the same time, a change to salary was approved during the board’s Monday meeting, where TCC employees with exempt positions are now required to earn a minimum of $43,888 annually from $35,568 in recent years to follow federal guidelines.
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act and the college’s policy, “exempt” refers to positions that are excluded from overtime requirements, meaning that employees classified as exempt are not entitled to overtime pay.
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a rule update in April and it included increasing the standard salary threshold for exemption, which led the college to reflect the change through its salary schedule update, TCC's Vice President for Communications and Chief of Staff Candice Grause said.
TCC's 2024-2025 operating budget is approved
Besides Murdaugh’s evaluation and the required salary change for exempt positions, the board also approved a $77.4 million operating budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year during the Monday meeting.
Of the entire spending plan, $58.4 million goes toward personnel, $17 million for operations and $2 million for capital outlay.
There’s no money budgeted for pay raises in the operating budget.
A majority of TCC's revenue is expected to be about $41 million from general appropriations and nearly $32 million from tuition and fees, which will remain the same at the college since 2010-2011.
Related news: TCC aims to stay 'accessible' by not changing tuition. Financial audit recommends increase.
One of the college’s major initiatives for the fiscal year is moving into a State Group Health Insurance Plan, which will be implemented Jan. 1. The initiative is expected to impact the college's employees by providing them with a lower premium, similar options and a seamless transition, according to a TCC report.
A compensation study is also on the horizon, where the college will be taking a deeper look into retention, recruitment and market competitiveness to update position classifications and ensure internal equity and fairness, according to the report.
A timeline of the study shows that updates to individual position descriptions and salaries could potentially be made by July or August of next year.
“The migration to the State Group Health Insurance and the compensation study are going to be a big lift for us,” Grause said.
Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TCC trustees approve evaluation of President Jim Murdaugh, new budget
