Report: FAU may have also misspent funds

Two Florida lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would more firmly regulate state universities in the wake of the UCF construction funding scandal, which a Politico report Wednesday indicated could grow to snare four other schools.

The remarks by state Rep. Randy Fine and Rep. Tom Leek were among the first signs that the controversy over misspent funds, which already cost University of Central Florida President Dale Whittaker his job, could lead to a major reworking of how Florida’s universities are run.

Leek, R-Ormond Beach, who chairs the Florida House’s top investigative committee, has summoned 14 current and former UCF officials as part of a probe into the improper use of $38 million in operating funds for construction of Trevor Colbourn Hall.

In an interview with the Sentinel, Leek said a report on UCF’s misspent funds should be released within two weeks and it would contain recommendations for “internal controls” at all universities. He wouldn’t provide specifics.

Whether the House opts to cut all higher-education funding or just UCF’s as a whole remains to be seen. Leek said no funding decisions have been made, but the resignations of Whittaker and Marcos Marchena, the former board of trustees chairman, are a positive sign.

“You have to be good stewards of the public’s money. To the extent they have not been good stewards of the public’s money it makes it more difficult to trust them with more public money,” Leek said. “That said, I think the most impactful thing they have done is put a fresh face on the university. And by putting a fresh face on the university they get a chance to start over.”

Fine, R-Palm Bay, who chairs the House’ Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, said he wants to look into giving the Legislature more control over the higher education budget and to provide training for officials who oversee school finances.

“Illegal actions only happen in the absence of proper internal controls,” FIne said Wednesday. “And in at least two instances for sure, UCF and USF, illegal spending happened. Whether it’s two, or three, or six [schools], any illegal spending of taxpayers’ money is not okay.”

Fine was referring to investigations into UCF and the University of South Florida, the only two schools to have admitted state dollars were misspent for projects, and the University of Florida, which confirmed last week to the Gainesville Sun that school officials are investigating a potential misuse of $3 million on a new recreation center and parking lot.

And according to records obtained by Politico, four other state universities may be caught up in the Florida House probe.

The staff director for the House Public Integrity and Ethics Committee, Don Rubottom, flagged 23 university building projects amounting to more than $252 million in last year’s budget “that might have been funded at least partially with money tied to school operations,” Politico reported.

Whittaker resigned last week amid a controversy over the improper use of operating funds on construction, specifically $85 million on a number of projects including $38 million to build Trevor Colbourn Hall.

While only UCF and the USF have openly admitted to spending “carry-forward” funds, otherwise known as education and general or E&G funds on construction, other schools may have been doing the same with murkier language, Rubottom said.

“It is interesting to see how different Universities identify their sources for funding the many projects,” Rubottom said in the Dec. 7 email obtained by Politico. “FSU and UCF use ‘E&G’ a lot, UCF indiscriminately, FSU a bit more cautiously. But UF says ‘University’ many times, meaning they were not disclosing their sources. I speculate that this hid some operating funds in construction and other capital expansion projects.”

Dennis Schnittker, a spokesman for FSU, said in an email that the university thought the House was seeking “additional details” about university construction projects, not highlighting problems. “We have no indication that the FSU projects were flagged as problematic. We were happy to provide the requested info and we look forward to working with the Legislature during the upcoming session,” he wrote.

Steve Orlando, a UF spokesman, said the funding for the university projects on the House list — two additions to existing buildings — “were appropriate and in accordance with the requirements of state law, regulations and long-standing guidance.” He told the News Service of Florida that UF was “swiftly and aggressively” addressing the potential problems with the recreation center and parking lot and any allegations of business practices that “do not support university and/or state laws, regulations and policies.”

Rubottom highlighted projects including a $15 million academic support center at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, the funding source for which was listed as “university,” as well as almost $10 million for additions to the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida, $10 million for land acquisition and “minor projects” at FSU and $2 million for an online learning hub at the University of West Florida in Pensacola.

The Orlando Sentinel contacted the other universities with projects on the House list and was waiting for comment.

The majority of flagged projects are at UCF, including Trevor Colbourn Hall as well as $46 million for an incubator facility, $83 million for a College of Nursing building, and $15 million for a downtown garage.

Leek added the UF internal investigation will be monitored, but his committee has not launched a formal investigation.