Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
University spending scandal could have effect on FAU
A spending scandal could shake up state universities all over Florida as lawmakers demand explanations for how the schools paid for construction projects.
The universities face, at a minimum, additional scrutiny over their financial practices. They may have to change the way they make money decisions, and the Legislature could decide to spend less on the schools overall.
What’s going on?
State universities spent leftover money from their operating budgets for construction. Others may have been too opaque in the way they described their financial practices.
Both the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida have admitted state dollars were misspent on construction projects. The University of Florida is investigating potential misuse of public funds.
It’s similar to what President Donald Trump is doing with the national emergency he declared to build part of the wall he wants on the southern U.S. border: taking money appropriated for one purpose and using it for something else. One key difference: Unlike the universities, Trump is openly reallocating the money.
What are the implications for FAU?
As long as Florida Atlantic University did nothing wrong, it would not face specific repercussions, though it would be affected by any statewide policy changes.
There are questions about one project at the Boca Raton campus.
The staff director of the House Public Integrity and Ethics Committee 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.
At FAU, a $15 million project in the current fiscal year for “classrooms and office space to support
the Executive MBA program within FAU’s College of Business,” was on the list, with the funding source listed as “university.”
State Rep. Tom Leek, the Ormond Beach Republican who is chairman of the House Public Integrity & Ethics Committee, said the vague funding source prompted the question, which the university needs to answer.
But, Leek said, it would be a mistake to assume FAU did anything wrong. “I don’t know that [the vague description is] necessarily an effort to try to disguise where the money is coming from,” he said. “It may just be sloppy.”
Lisa Metcalf, FAU’s chief press officer, said by email that the funds being used for the construction program in question are not in the category of money that can’t be used for construction projects. She said the money is “permitted to be used for construction projects.”