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Facing outrage from the lawmaker who had targeted his schools for reform, the former leader of Utah's technical college network has scrapped his request for $56,000 in ongoing retirement benefits.

Rob Brems had hoped the Utah College of Applied Technology (UCAT) would pay for health insurance for both him and his wife as they begin a mission in Spain for the LDS Church this year, and continue the coverage until they each become eligible for Medicare.

Brems became president in 2006 and stepped down March 11.

UCAT's governing board was scheduled to discuss the request Wednesday. But on Monday, Sen. Stephen Urquhart, the St. George Republican who ushered broad UCAT reforms through the 2016 Legislature, slammed the board in a Facebook post.

Urquhart contended that the UCAT Board of Trustees favors its president over students, noting his overhaul of the leadership over eight campuses does not go into effect until May.

Below a list of phone numbers he listed for the school and Utah's governor, Urquhart said: "So, what is the existing Board contemplating as a last act for Brems as he walks out the door?"

"They have a meeting Wednesday to hand him $57,000 of taxpayer money as a parting gift in the form of new post-retirement benefits."

Later Monday, Brems dropped his request for $752 a month — $376 each for him and his wife — to cover them under Bridgerland Applied Technology College's early retirement program. He will not receive any post-retirement benefits from the system of eight colleges, which offer degrees from cosmetology to welding. His annual salary was $190,000, plus access to a car.

"I have been informed that considering that request has been viewed by some as controversial," Brems said via email, "and subsequently asked that the request be withdrawn."

"It's been shelved permanently," said Tom Bingham, chair of the Board of Trustees. "We're not going to consider it."

Urquhart did not respond to a request for comment.

The request was part of a standard retirement package at UCAT, Bingham said. Brems wrote in a memo to Bingham and fellow board members that the request is consistent with rates for insurance overseas.

"It's really typical, if you're going to provide health coverage," said Jared Haines, vice president of instruction and public relations, "to pay these types of rates."

But Urquhart disagreed, saying in the post, "This isn't money to attract or keep a guy. This is money that could be used for the benefit of the students."

The Brems were preparing at Provo's Missionary Training Center this week, Bingham said, before departing for Barcelona.

The requested money would have continued until 2020 for Brems and to 2021 for his wife, covering each of them until they turn 65, the eligibility age for Medicare's federal coverage.

During the legislative session, Urquhart and other legislators vented frustration with UCAT after a November audit found the school inflated its completion rates by up to 40 percent. The school's board picked Urquhart's colleague, former state Sen. Aaron Osmond, to succeed Brems. But it has launched a new search for an incoming president because Osmond reversed course to accept a promotion from his employer, the digital assessment company Certiport.

The board hopes to have a new leader in place by July 1, Bingham said. But the appointment requires approval from the Utah Senate and Gov. Gary Herbert under the Legislature's recent tweak to Utah code. The new law also limits board members to two terms, and transfers oversight of individual campus leaders from the president to board members selected by the governor.

Even as it has come under criticism, the school has grown. A new Cedar City building opened in January to make room for more students and help the school meet growing demand from southern Utah's growing manufacturing industry.

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