Latest news with #boardoftrustees
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tennessee State raises tuition 6% amid budget stabilization effort
This story was originally published on Higher Ed Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Higher Ed Dive newsletter. Tennessee State University is set to raise its tuition and fees by 6% as the struggling institution tries to pull itself out of financial distress. The university's board of trustees voted to approve the increase last week. The plan would reduce the historically Black institution's projected fiscal 2026 deficit by some $7 million, to $38.9 million, Acting Chief Financial Officer Jim Grady told trustees at the Thursday board meeting. Since February, university leaders have identified up to $26 million in cost reductions through measures such as hiring freezes and capping scholarship awards. But officials acknowledged last week that more work still needed to be done to close the budget gap. Tennessee State is operating with little margin for error after years of management issues. Today the university would likely not be operating at all without the release of significant state funds to keep it afloat. One of the university's near-fatal mistakes in past years was promising full rides to most students using emergency federal pandemic funds without a funding plan for continuing the scholarships through their academic careers. The broken promises to students led to a massive enrollment dip. First-year student enrollment sat at around 3,500 in fiscal 2022, but fell by roughly half the next year, officials told state lawmakers last year. By 2024, Tennessee State had only 880 students. Moreover, a recently released audit found that in fiscal 2023 — and in the several years prior — Tennessee State administration failed to enact proper financial controls and processes. That resulted in both over- and undercharging students and misstating cash balances in financial statements. Since then, the university has been trying to right its budget and secure funding from the state for a turnaround. This past spring, Interim President Dwayne Tucker laid out a five-year plan to modernize Tennessee State's facilities while providing for its cash needs. The proposal would use over half a billion dollars of state money — the amount by which Tennessee underfunded the HBCU over the course of several decades, according to a 2021 report. As for its upcoming annual budget, Grady laid out spending reductions last week that are expected to save as much as $6 million by capping unrestricted financial aid awards to students and up to $10 million in reduced personnel costs by leaving vacancies unfilled. That comes after laying off around 100 employees last year. University leaders also found up to $10 million in proposed cuts to unspecified nonpersonnel costs. Tennessee State faces other potential financial headaches outside its control, such as the impact on enrollment from federal Republican proposals to cut Pell Grant awards and eligibility as well as other potential policy changes. Since President Donald Trump retook office this year, the university has also seen disruption to tens of millions of dollars in federal grants, with some funds being suspended, reinstated and then suspended again. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Will Penn State trustees remove Barry Fenchak from board? Special meeting scheduled
The Penn State board of trustees scheduled a special meeting for Monday to vote on removing one of its most outspoken board members. The board will meet virtually at 3 p.m. Monday, June 16 to consider a proposal recommending removing trustee Barry Fenchak from the board. A vote in favor of doing so would make Fenchak permanently ineligible to serve on the board again. Fenchak is an alumni-elected trustee whose three-year term expires June 30. He submitted materials and garnered enough signatures to appear on the trustee election ballot to run for a second term, but the board ruled he was unqualified and ineligible to appear on the ballot. He ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign. The board previously tried to permanently remove Fenchak from the board in the fall because of an incident that occurred after the board's July 2024 meeting. Fenchak loosely repeated a quote from the PG-rated movie 'A League of Their Own' in which Tom Hanks' character told a baseball umpire he looked like a 'penis with a little hat on' to a female staff member. A board subcommittee found it to be a code of conduct violation and unanimously recommended his removal. When the board tried to remove him, the issue went to court as part of a lawsuit Fenchak filed against the board. The judge blocked the board from removing him as trustee a day before the vote was scheduled, finding Fenchak had provided 'uncontradicted evidence of a broad pattern of retaliatory behavior' by the board. But the judge, Brian Marshall, lifted that preliminary injunction in May — paving way for his removal — after finding the basis for it had since become moot. He granted the injunction in the fall after Fenchak showed the board was trying to remove him in retaliation for his repeated requests for information, namely the university's approximately $4.57 billion endowment and a reportedly $1 billion athletic department contract with a ticketing and fan engagement agency. But in the seven months since, Fenchak was given 510 pages of information related to the endowment and a complete, unredacted copy of the contract with Elevate. He can no longer claim he is subject to removal from the board because of those specific requests, Marshall wrote in his ruling. Reporter Bret Pallotto contributed to this report.
RNZ News
30-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Logan Park High School theft handled as 'employment matter' without police
The missing funds were recovered, along with legal and accounting costs. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton A Dunedin high school didn't go to the police after almost $365,000 was misappropriated by a staff member more than five years. An external accountant first discovered Logan Park High School was missing funds last year. The money was taken between 2019-24. The school's board of trustees said it sought legal and accounting advice, and was told it was best treated as an employment matter, as it was one individual acting in isolation. "Our priority was to recover the funds in full and as quickly as possible, while ensuring the matter was handled appropriately," the board said. The missing funds were subsequently fully recovered, along with legal and accounting costs, and a review was conducted. The board said the person was no longer employed by the school and they had made changes to ensure this wouldn't happen again. The high school emailed parents on Thursday to tell them what had happened, acknowledging that might come as a surprise, but the financial risk had been eliminated. The board declined to comment further on the personal details, saying it was an employment matter. The Ministry of Education said it was aware of the matter and would work with the school to better understand the processes they followed. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Winona ISD second election early voting starting soon
WINONA, Texas (KETK) – Early voting in Winona ISD's second election for board of trustees place 3 will begin next week after their first election for the seat ended in a tie. UPDATE: Winona ISD school board holds meeting to discuss second election Starting on Tuesday, May 27, residents can vote from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Friday, May 30 and then on Monday, June 2 and Tuesday, June 3. Residents in the district can vote at the Winona Community Center at 520 Dallas St. and at the Smith County Elections Office at 302 E. Ferguson St. in Tyler. The second election comes after both candidates, Randy Hawkins and Luis Hernandez, both received 137 votes in the May 3 election. On election day, June 7, the Winona Community Center will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for voters. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Penn State alumni select two new trustees, reelect incumbent member in election
Penn State alumni voted in two new members to the board of trustees and reelected an incumbent in this year's alumni election. Incumbent Kelley Lynch and candidates J. Gregory Pilewicz and Uma Moriarity were the top three vote-getters in the alumni election, trustee Carl Nassib announced during Friday's board meeting. They beat out 14 other candidates. Nassib and Trustee Matthew McGloin served as judges in the election; voting concluded at 9 a.m. Thursday. A total of 17,720 ballots were cast in the election, in which Penn State alumni can vote, Nassib said. Lynch received the most with 4,942 votes. Pilewicz garnered 4,816 votes and Moriarity got 3,396 votes. Lynch was already on the board as the immediate past president of the alumni association. She earned her finance degree from Penn State in 1987, followed by an MBA from Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business in 1994. For more than two decades, she has served as the Chief Financial Officer for small to midsize high-growth companies, according to her biography. In her position statement, she said she wants to make sure students continue to have the 'transformative' experiences, which she said is what Penn State students deserve. 'We are in a challenging yet exciting time for higher education. Penn State must be a leader in shaping its future, balance tradition with innovation to remain relevant and valuable. As we navigate these times, our approach must be rooted in building trust, being transparent, involving all stakeholders, and reimagining our land-grant mission,' Lynch said. Pilewicz earned his finance degree from Penn State in 1985. He's an executive leader in State College and since 2015 has been the president/owner of SingleSource Management, where he leads all aspects of the property management company, according to his biography. In his position statement, he said he will bring an independent mindset to the board, he wrote in his position statement, and is committed to Penn State being world class in education, research and student life. 'If elected, I will bring an independent mindset and be a well-informed contributor to the role of Trustee. I am committed to Penn State being world class in the areas of education, research, and student life. I prefer not to see increases in tuition, capital projects that challenge the university's financial well-being, or a fractured governance. These items, along with our branch campus system's success are high priorities for me. Lastly, I am also an enthusiastic proponent of the student-run organizations, clubs, leadership programs, Greek-life, and athletics that make PSU such a special and memorable experience,' he said. Moriarity graduated from Penn State in 2014 with a bachelor's degrees in accounting and finance, and a master's degree in accounting. She is a senior investment strategist and the global environmental, social and governance lead for CenterSquare Investment Management, according to her biography. She listed four key policy focus areas in her position statement to advance academic and institutional excellence: climate action, educational equity, governance reform and workers' rights. 'Moriarity has spent her career building the business case for sustainable capital allocation,' her position statement reads. 'She built her firm's ESG practice, which has grown into $2b in assets under management. She is ready to fix Penn State's budget deficit while securing institutional resilience with responsible investment policies and capital allocation practices. And through her Penn State service, she supports the faculty and students who make Penn State a climate leader — work she's excited to continue as a Trustee.' There are nine alumni-elected trustees in all, and they serve staggered three-year terms with three seats becoming open each year. Lynch, Pilewicz and Moriarity will begin their terms July 1. There were 2,048 write-in ballots, Penn State said in a news release. Incumbent Barry Fenchak was the only individual with 250 or more votes, with 1,304 votes. Fenchak launched a write-in campaign after a judge recently ruled that he may not appear on the ballot, upholding a decision the board's nominating subcommittee made earlier this year to deem him unqualified and ineligible to run. He posted on social media that he was not one of the three trustee candidates selected by alumni, and thanked his supporters. Additionally, two trustee seats representing business and industry, an at-large seat, and a student trustee seat were also open. The trustees approved reappointing Naren Gursahaney and Richard Sokolov to the board representing business and industry, and Tracy Riegel was reappointed to her at-large seat, all for three year terms beginning July 1. Ruby Bjalme was selected for the student trustee seat for a two year term beginning July 1. The election of trustees by the agricultural delegated was also conducted Thursday, in which Trustees Donald Cairns and M. Abraham Harpster served as judges. Three candidates were on the ballots, Dan Brown, Valerie Detwiler and Matthew Espenshade. Incumbent Detwiler and Espenshade were elected to the board for three year terms beginning July 1.
