City College of San Francisco Chancellor Mark Rocha has resigned from the helm after serving since 2017, effective March 31, according to college officials and Rocha’s spokeswoman.

Rocha’s resignation comes just days after he was placed on paid administrative leave amid the college’s years-long budget crisis.

Board of Trustees officials told The Chronicle last week that the reason for his administrative leave was a confidential personnel matter. The college has been in a deficit for years, and Rocha’s decision to cut hundreds of classes and his attempt to double executive salaries garnered dissatisfaction from the college community. His plan for the administrative pay increase was ultimately nixed, and he and the Board of Trustees instead voted to raise most administrators’ pay by 10% during the budget crisis.

As part of his resignation agreement, the San Francisco Community College District will pay him his yearly base salary of $340,481 over the next year, continue paying his health insurance for the next year, pay him $24,476 in accrued and unused vacation days, and pay him an additional $11,000 to reimburse out-of-pocket expenses.

The agreement also states that the district’s human resources department will respond to any future employers inquiring about Rocha’s employment with his date of service, salary, job title, responsibilities, and will indicate that he resigned and is “eligible for rehire.”

In a letter to the college community, Board of Trustees President Shanell Williams said college officials are opening a search for a new chancellor and will hire an interim to start serving as soon as possible.

“Our senior vice chancellors are managing day-to-day operations, in addition to fulfilling their current roles,” Williams said. “We cannot thank them enough for doing double-duty during this demanding time, but we know this is not a sustainable situation.”

Next week, Williams said in a statement, the Board of Trustees is conducting interviews with a “small pool of experienced college leaders who can step in immediately.”

“In addition to supporting the leadership team in sustaining services and preparing for an uncertain future, they will help lead the district in our 2020-21 budget development, which must be approved by June 15,” Williams said.

The board has enlisted HSV Consulting Inc. to begin a formal search process for a yearlong interim chancellor, Williams said. Officials said they plan to distribute a survey to the college community for its insight on selecting a new chancellor.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez