The FVCC Education Association, the Flathead Trades Instructors Association and the Federation of Flathead Valley Community College Adjunct Faculty have voted no confidence in FVCC Executive Director of Human Resources Karen Glasser, saying they have lost trust in her leadership and judgment. 

In a letter emailed Tuesday to the FVCC Board of Trustees and President Jane Karas, the Education Association said its members broadly supported the no-confidence vote. 

“Members cited a pattern of inequitable compensation decisions, bargaining processes that were poorly prepared and slow to reach agreement, and administrative lapses that have delayed or reduced employees’ take-home pay and directly affected their personal finances,” the letter said. “Together, these have eroded trust, damaged morale, and contributed to the loss of valued colleagues.” 

“We ask the Board to take these results seriously,” the letter stated. 

Glasser oversees the college’s human resources and payroll departments, along with other duties related to compliance and policy. 

FVCC Board President Callie Langohr, FVCC President Jane Karas and Glasser did not immediately respond to the Daily Inter Lake’s request for comment. 

The no-confidence votes grew out of ongoing frustration over salary and benefits, transparency, communication and a perceived lack of staff input in major decisions affecting faculty, including the presidential search process to replace Karas, who is retiring after leading the college for decades. 

Frustrations began when faculty learned of salary increases for several of the college’s top-paid administrators while faculty were still working without a new collective bargaining agreement for the 2025-26 academic year. Education Association Vice President Conrad Rauscher said faculty pay has not kept up with inflation and the cost of living in the Flathead Valley. 

FVCC Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications Julie Brempelis said the college is “committed to competitive compensation” and that market adjustments may be made when data indicate a position’s pay is below market. 

“Market adjustments may be made to ensure employee salaries are competitive with peer institutions, are distinct from standard annual increases and are made when data indicate that a position’s pay is below market,” Brempelis said in a Sept. 29 email.  

Brempelis said that from FY23 through FY26, approximately 90% of faculty received market adjustments ranging from 9% to 29% and six executive staff received adjustments ranging from 7% to 24%. 

During that period, she said Karas’ salary increased 11% and Glasser’s salary increased 17%. 

COMPENSATION CONCERNS resurfaced during FVCC’s recent presidential search. On Sept. 28, trustees appointed Deborah Kish Stephan as FVCC’s next president but tabled a vote on her contract so an attorney could review it. 

At the Sept. 28 board meeting, Rauscher spoke during public comment and criticized what he described as a discrepancy between administrative compensation and faculty pay. 

“Over the last seven years, the largest pay increases on this campus went to the president’s compensation package and to the director of human resources — whose salary alone rose 57%, roughly double the increase to the faculty median. The records that support this are available to you. We are shocked by those numbers, and by the package now being awarded to the new president,” Rauscher said at the meeting. 

The board is scheduled to vote on the latest proposed contract at 4 p.m. Oct. 15 in the board room at Blake Hall on the FVCC campus, 777 Grandview Drive in Kalispell. 

The initial term of the proposed contract starts Jan. 1, 2027, and ends June 30, 2030. 

Stephan’s proposed contract states she will be paid a $250,000 annual salary for the first 18 months, plus a $30,000 yearly retention bonus and a $30,000 yearly retirement contribution to the optional retirement plan of her choice. The college also agrees to contribute the full employer share and 75% of the president’s share to the state retirement system. 

Starting July 1, 2028, the contract states her salary must increase by at least as much as the increases offered to other employees. In the previous version of the contract that trustees tabled voting on, the college proposed a 3% annual salary increase at minimum, "subject to the availability of funds."

The contract also includes up to $10,000 in reimbursed moving expenses. In the previous iteration of the proposed contract, this amount was a flat $30,000. 

Other proposed benefits include a college-paid leased vehicle of her choice, including insurance, fuel, repairs and maintenance, as well as work-related travel and technology expenses that allow her to work off campus. 

Karas’ current base salary is $260,136 with annual increases of no less than 3%. She also receives $45,000 in longevity pay, a college-provided vehicle and $90,000 in deferred retirement pay to be dispersed over three years. The college also pays for 75% of Karas' contribution to the Public Employee Retirement System and 75% of her share into the state retirement system.

An earlier summary of Stephan’s contract listed a $250,000 salary, a $60,000 housing allowance and a $12,000 vehicle allowance.  

The college later supplied the full contract from the Sept. 28 meeting on Oct. 13 (when it also sent out a notice of the Oct. 15 board meeting), following a public information request by the Daily Inter Lake and included the latest proposed contract in full with the Oct. 15 board agenda.  

For now, the no-confidence votes add pressure on trustees to explain how the college handles pay, bargaining and leadership decisions.

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 406-758-4431 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.