Tseng, who served as the district's chancellor from 1993 to 98, is also entitled to receive lifetime benefits for herself and her husband from WV­MCCD along with a retirement package—but not from her current employer—according to the terms of an agreement signed in 1998.

Due to current budget uncertainties, complaints are being heard within the district about Tseng's contract. But Tseng said it's common practice for universities and community colleges to make such agreements so that employees don't lose those continual benefits.

Her retirement is occurring at a time when WV­MCCD is asking employees to take pay cuts because of anticipated dramatic cutbacks in state funding for community colleges. So far no faculty has been laid off.

District Director of Public Affairs Ruth Carlson said faculty members were upset that Tseng will be receiving lifetime benefits and California State Teachers' Retirement System pension, since she no longer works at West Valley. Carlson said some of the faculty also was unhappy with Tseng's leadership and management style while she was chancellor.

Current Chancellor Stan Arterberry confirmed WV­MCCD employees hired prior to 1994—such as Tseng—who meet necessary requirements are entitled to receive lifetime benefits.

"I'm not being singled out. I'm not milking the district," Tseng said in a phone interview from Hawaii, adding that she wasn't aware of any opposition to her agreement until now. "This is the smallest story in the whole world. People think I'm getting money from the district."

Tseng stressed that she didn't think the board would have negotiated her contract as they did if they thought it might hurt the district.

"People are angry because she got the benefits that nobody else will get," Carlson said. "This is just now coming to light. It was never a secret."

What is also not a secret but is little-known, however, is that Tseng's current employer—the University of Hawaii—has been reimbursing WV­MCCD for Tseng's pay and benefits for the past four years.

Tseng presently serves as senior vice president of the University of Hawaii system and chancellor of University of Hawaii at Hilo. She became an official employee there as of June 30, 2003, ending her contract with WV­MCCD, according to John Whittaker, vice chancellor for administrative affairs at Hilo.

Whittaker said she left WV­MCCD in June of 1998 with four years left on her contract. Tseng claims she was "recruited" to Hawaii rather than forced out of the district.

"We think very highly of Rose," Whittaker said. "In fact, we just hired her for another three-year contract." And Whittaker confirmed that under a contractual agreement the University of Hawaii agreed to reimburse WV­MCCD for a maximum of five years so Tseng could keep her fringe benefits including medical, vision and dental coverage as well as CalSTRS contributions. Tseng said this "paid administrative leave" is why she continued to be listed on WV­MCCD's payroll.

"University of Hawaii has been reimbursing West Valley-Mission for that," Whittaker said. "Rose has technically been working here [in Hawaii] as a consultant, and the University of Hawaii has picked up not only the direct cost of her salary, but also all of the cost of fringe benefits including retirement."

Tseng, 60, who is nearing the end of a long career in education, said she wanted to keep earning service credit toward her CalSTRS pension since it would take her 10 years to become eligible for Hawaii's pension plan.

"Hawaii is a nice place," she said. "But it's not good for retirement if I don't stay 10 years."

According to Arterberry, the lifetime benefits plan was a method put in place to recruit employees to WV­MCCD at a time when benefits were inexpensive. But now, he said, the cost of benefits have "skyrocketed." Negotiations took place in 1994 with the faculty union that no longer allow faculty to receive those lifetime benefits.

Arterberry said the board of trustees will be "analyzing the cost factor" of providing Tseng with lifetime benefits to make sure that neither WV­MCCD nor Hawaii has lost money from the agreement.

Tseng had received a "no-confidence" rating from the faculty senate while employed by the local college district, according to Dr. Lydia Harris, who was faculty senate president when Tseng was chancellor. Harris said it was a difficult vote to reach.

"It was something we felt strongly about," Harris said. "She wasn't communicating with us, and we were not communicating with her."

Tseng said she often made tough decisions while chancellor and may have bumped heads with some of the faculty. But even though Tseng is leaving WV­MCCD with mixed reviews, she and the board of trustees did put finances back in order while she was chancellor, eliminating a $6 million deficit and increasing enrollment.

"When I left the district it was in great shape, but when I walked into the district in 1993 it was in terrible shape," Tseng said.

Dr. Gloria Ham, who will be retiring this month after more than 32 years of service to WV­MCCD as an economics instructor, said she has always thought of Tseng in a positive light.

"I liked her," Ham said. "I think she was dynamite at fundraising and bridging with the community."

Tseng said her role at WV­MCCD after 1998 as "executive advisor" was non-official. According to Tseng, there is nothing in her contract requiring her to give back to the district, yet she claims she made her services available. The agreement terms Tseng as "executive advisor" but never specifies her duties or role requirements.

District Trustee Jeffrey Schwartz said the arrangement worked out between the district and Tseng happened prior to his appointment to the board five years ago.

"I understand the arrangements called for Rose to provide services to the district in some kind of consulting capacity, and I know in the last five years she has not done that," Schwartz said.

While Tseng said she has been successful and enjoys working in Hawaii, she wants to maintain a connection to California and still has a house in Almaden Valley.

"I like California as my home and will retire in California," she said.