As the economy hit bottom last year, Kamehameha Schools' top executive, Dee Jay Mailer, took an 11.7 percent, or $72,808, cut in pay.

The chief executive officer of the $5.5 billion land trust received total compensation of $548,885, including a base salary of $490,591, for the fiscal year ended June 30. That compares with a total compensation package of $621,693 in the previous fiscal year, according to its annual tax filing with the Internal Revenue Service.

Including Mailer, four of the five top wage-earners at the trust saw their pay drop, the filing shows.

“;It's a sign that Kamehameha Schools and its leadership are trying to be good community citizens,”; said Hugh Jones, supervising deputy attorney general of the Department of the Attorney General, Tax Division. “;Like the for-profit sector, it has not been immune from the economic crisis. Everybody's hurting.”;

Nationally, chief executive officers of nonprofit organizations with assets of similar size were paid a base salary of about $502,000 and $622,000 in total compensation, which includes benefits and reimbursements, according to the ERI Economic Research Institute in Washington, D.C. There is no comparable nonprofit organization of similar size in Hawaii.

“;It appears within a reasonable range,”; said ERI research director Linda Lampkin.

By comparison, Robert Hiam, president and CEO of the Hawaii Medical Service Association, the state's largest health insurer with $1.6 billion in annual revenue, made almost $1.3 million last year, a 3.4 percent decrease from the previous year.

Kamehameha's net assets plunged $1.7 billion to $5.5 billion at the end of the 2009 fiscal year from $7.2 billion in the beginning of the year.

In general, nonprofit stock market holdings fell 25 to 30 percent in the year, Lampkin said.

“;Nonprofits with asset levels the size of this organization were certainly hard hit, and there were often executive pay freezes and even reductions,”; she said. “;A nonprofit has to be responsive to its economic circumstances. Particularly for an organization with an endowment that large, it is going to have to think about where the money is coming from—if the money's not there, they may have to reduce salaries or services.”;

The trust's second-highest-paid executive was Kirk Belsby, vice president of endowment, whose total compensation plunged 29.5 percent to $497,916 last year from $705,892 the previous year.

Christopher Pating, vice president of strategic planning, earned $381,144, down 1.4 percent from $386,582 a year earlier. Elizabeth Hokada, director of financial assets, received $346,676, 9.4 percent less than the $382,645 she received in fiscal 2008. Rounding out the top five highest-paid employees was Michael Loo, vice president of finance and administration, who earned $315,195, up 1.5 percent from $310,389.

Kamehameha paid 20 employees and three of five trustees more than $100,000 last year.

Trustee Nainoa Thompson, whose term ends June 30, brought home $114,000, 6 percent more than the $107,500 he earned the previous year.

Trustee Douglas Ing received $103,500, down 7.2 percent from $111,500, while Corbett Kalama earned $102,000, 1.4 percent less than the $103,500 in fiscal 2008.

Trustees Robert Kihune and Diane Plotts both received $97,500, up 1.6 percent from $96,000 the year earlier.

In a 2009 survey of 325 large nonprofit organizations, nearly 30 percent of top executives took a pay cut—the median of which was 10 percent, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Kamehameha unveiled this week a $118.5 million redevelopment plan for its main Kapalama campus. The trust announced last month that it would spend about $100 million to build a learning community in Makaha.

Kamehameha Schools, created in 1884 by the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop to educate the children of Hawaii, spent about $258 million, including $97 million for early learning and educational outreach programs last year. Its preschool and scholarship programs reached more than 44,000 children and families in 2009.

“;While most people in the nonprofit sector are drawn to their work for reasons other than compensation, we need to recognize that compensation does matter,”; said Kelvin Taketa, president and CEO of the Hawaii Community Foundation.

“;It may matter more to our community that the very best, most talented leaders are running nonprofit institutions that have profound impact on the lives of our citizens rather than private institutions.”;

KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS COMPENSATION

Kamehameha Schools’ executive compensation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009

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