On Thursday, the Cape Fear Community College Board of Trustees voted to give President Jim Morton a significant raise — 12% — and a sizeable bonus of $25,000. They also approved extending his contract by a year, now set to run through May 2029.
Based on past compensation information, the 12% raise increases Morton’s salary by $43,355 — from $361,296 to around $404,763. [Note: WHQR has asked CFCC to confirm Morton's new salary.]
Morton also received a 12% raise in 2023, and a 10% raise in both 2022 and 2021.
Much of Morton’s pay raises have come from local county-appropriated funds; as of last year, around $189,000 of Morton’s roughly $361,000 salary came from the county.
Both Morton’s salary and the rate at which it has increased have outpaced other top administrators like City of Wilmington manager Tony Caudle, New Hanover County manager Chris Coudriet, and school superintendent Dr. Charles Foust. Morton's new salary is now higher than UNCW Chancellor Aswani Volety's 2023 salary of $381,583 — although it's worth noting Volety's position also comes with a residence and a vehicle.
Morton’s salary also outpaces most other community college presidents — and the head of the state’s community college system. Of the most highly compensated North Carolina community college presidents, Morton is the only one lacking a doctorate or post-undergraduate degree; most previous CFCC presidents had doctorates, but the position requirements were weakened before Morton’s hire.
Past raises have almost all been approved unanimously, with the notable exception of Ray Funderburk, the lone dissenting vote in 2022. Funderburk was later removed from the board after a public hearing.
This year, however, several trustees dissented, including Deborah Dicks Maxwell, who also serves as the president of the North Carolina NAACP, Deloris Rhodes, Bruce Shell, and Jonathan Barfield, who is also a New Hanover County commissioner.
Barfield said he would have supported up to a 6.8% raise, based on the county’s approach which includes a 3.8% cost of living increase and up to 3% for merit-based increases. But he said he could not support the full 12% increase — or the $25,00 bonus.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to note that Trustee Bruce Shell also voted against Morton's raise. Shell is a former New Hanover County manager and New Hanover County Board of Education member.
