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Centinela Valley Superintendent Under Fire For Excessive Salary Says He Will Give Some Benefits Back

LAWNDALE (CBSLA.com) — The superintendent of the Centinela Valley Union High School District, who has come under fire recently for an inflated compensation package, said he will voluntarily give some benefits back.

KCAL9's Dave Bryan reports that Jose Fernandez's total compensation last year was $663,000, all for running a district of three high schools with only about 6,500 students.

At a meeting in Lawndale Tuesday night, Fernandez said, "As a show of good faith, I am agreeing that for the remainder of this fiscal year, I will voluntarily forego some of my significant payments I'm entitled to under my existing contract."

Fernandez said he will not receive additional pay for work beyond 215 days a year, which was worth about $50,000 to him in 2013.

He also won't receive a 9 percent annual longevity pay raise, which was worth about $26,000 last year, and a management incentive payment and post-graduate bonus, which were worth about $14,500 last year.

In addition, he won't get a car allowance worth $7,200 in 2013 and a phone allowance of $2,400 last year.

The total value of the perks in 2013 was about $100,000.

Jack Foreman, the president of the Centinela Valley Secondary Teachers Association, said the concessions would only be in effect until the end of the fiscal year.

"The fiscal year ends at the end of June, so we're in March. That's three months. That's really minimal," he said.

Parents and students continued to express outrage at the meeting.

"The only thing [Fernandez] cares about is this…money!" a man yelled, throwing dollar bills into the air.

RELATED STORIES:

Lawndale Superintendent's $663K Salary Sparks Call For School Board's Recall, Criminal Investigation

Residents Outraged Over Centinela Valley Superintendent's Excessive Pay

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