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Posted on Tue, Mar. 20, 2007
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LEGISLATURE
Probe of FAMU's missing cash urged
Some lawmakers who got an earful about missing money at FAMU asked for a criminal investigation.
BY STEPHANIE GARRY
sgarry@MiamiHerald.com
TALLAHASSEE - In the worst report yet of persistent, widespread problems at Florida A&M University, state auditors told lawmakers Monday they have found evidence that the school spent millions of dollars that doesn't appear on any budget, that many other financial records are missing and that some employees went unpaid for months.
The audit prompted some lawmakers on a joint House-Senate committee to call for a criminal investigation of the university.
''Perhaps it's a matter for law enforcement to sort out,'' said Sen. Ronda Storms, a Brandon Republican.
Sen. Gwen Margolis, a Bay Harbor Islands Democrat and chairwoman of the committee, said some of the mismanagement sounded ``close to criminal.''
Lawmakers heard of an unapproved $39 million hole in the budget, nearly 1,000 missing pieces of property worth $2.7 million, and absent records of $1.8 million in athletic ticket sales that were apparently carried off by a janitor.
''I'm getting the sense this is over our head,'' said Sen. Jeremy Ring, a Margate Democrat. ``This is sounding more and more like Enron to me.''
Asked if some of the actions by university administrators could be criminal offenses, audit manager Ted Sauerbeck said FAMU records were in such disarray it was difficult to tell. He said auditors have no idea if any missing money was used for a legitimate expenditure or was simply stolen.
The report is the latest spotlight on the crippling troubles at Florida's only public, historically black university, and it is causing such frustration that legislators are considering withholding funding from the school rather than giving it a second chance.
FAMU President Castell Bryant responded in a statement Monday afternoon that suggestions that the university's actions were criminal are ''very serious charges'' that were ''not substantiated.'' Bryant said the administration is already working on a response to the audit, which it must submit within 30 days.
She acknowledged the school faces ''severe challenges'' and that ``there is indeed need for change and modernization at FAMU.''
Mark Rosenberg, chancellor of the state university system, told lawmakers Monday that a task force is being assembled to create a plan to solve the management problems by fall.
''We share your deep concern and sense of urgency about these difficulties,'' Rosenberg said.
Rep. William Snyder, a Stuart Republican, asked Rosenberg what the result would be if the university does not comply with task force mandates and Florida law.
Rosenberg's response: the end of state funding, and thus the end of FAMU.
THE WORST CASE
''The worst thing that could happen is there would be a decision not to fund it by the state Legislature,'' Rosenberg said. ``In that case, the university would cease to exist.''
Bill Edmonds, spokesman for the state Board of Governors, which oversees Florida's 11 public universities, said the problems appear to be more than the school can handle and require outside help.
The creation of a task force wasn't enough to satisfy some lawmakers on the panel. Rep. Susan Bucher, a West Palm Beach Democrat, said FAMU needs more accountants, not more reviews.
''I don't think a fluff task force is what we need,'' Bucher said, adding that there have been FAMU audits before and the problems haven't been resolved. ``I think that history is repeating itself in this audit.''
In one case highlighted by the audit, the university's administration blamed janitors for ''inadvertently'' throwing away records of $1.8 million in athletic ticket sales, which had been stored in a concession stand. Rep. Carl Domino, a Jupiter Republican, asked if the tickets could have been sold for more than they were worth, with the seller pocketing the difference. Sauerbeck said it was possible, but there was no way to tell.
`FOUR-YEAR VOID'
Sen. Al Lawson, a Democrat from Tallahassee and FAMU graduate, said he's been ''embarrassed'' by the university's problems. He told the panel that many attempts to lift FAMU out of its hole have been unsuccessful and that the university has suffered from a ``four-year void in leadership.''
''The only way they can be resolved is with accountability,'' Lawson said.
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