College of DuPage President Originally Wanted $1.5M Buyout: Report

Meetings between the College of DuPage’s board of trustees and its president to negotiate the latter’s early retirement might have been more intense than originally thought according to audio tapes of last year’s closed-door sessions.

College of DuPage President Robert Breuder asked the board for $1.5 million and other demands as part of a severance package he would receive for retiring early in March 2016, according to a Chicago Tribune report. But the board—especially then-Chairwoman Erin Britt, the lead negotiator—wouldn’t accept those terms, the report stated.

»Via the Chicago Tribune

Along with having the school pay him almost three years of his salary, Breuder’s original severance proposal also requested free tickets to events at the McAninch Arts Center, free meals and $20,000 put into his retirement fund, the report stated.

The board, however, stood at a $763,000 buyout and ordered Breuder to implement a series of new policies and initiatives in his final year, the report added.

»RELATED: Faculty Association Calls for Immediate Leave of College of DuPage President

When it was announced in January, the move drew a considerable amount of public opposition since it was one of the largest taxpayer buyouts in the state’s history, the report stated.

Of note is that one of the deal’s most outspoken critics on the board, current Chairwoman Katharine Hamilton, is heard on the tapes praising Britt for her negotiating, the report stated. Hamilton eventually was the only board member not to vote for the severance package and used that stance to help elect three of the board candidates she backed earlier this year, the report added.

»RELATED: College of DuPage President Goes on Leave Beginning Wednesday

Breuder, who has been under fire for his extravagant spending on the college’s dime among other criticisms, has been on leave from the college since April.

Here’s a look at some of the scandals the College of DuPage has been embroiled in lately:

• In January, school board members voted to send the community college’s president Robert Breuder away with a $762,000 buyout. That was funded by taxpayers.
• Then there were the business dealings at the college radio station and a move tocensure a board member.
• Earlier in March, it was revealed that nearly $200,000 was charged in food and liquor costs at the college’s fine dining restaurant, Waterleaf.
• The last week in March, the college allegedly awarded signage contracts to a foundation member without going to bid for the jobs.
• On April 13, the former radio station employee pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces.
• The on April 20, it was discovered that an additional $160,000 has been spent at the College of DuPage restaurant, Waterleaf, from an account that was previously undiscovered.

YOUR TURN: Does the information about the strong tactics the College of DuPage’s board used against Breuder change your mind about the buyout? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section.