SC lawmakers want major audit at Winthrop

Seven Democratic state lawmakers, including Rep. John King of Rock Hill, are calling on state auditors to probe Winthrop University’s finances.

King, whose district includes Winthrop’s Rock Hill campus, is leading the effort for the first major review of its kind at the school since the mid-1990s. He said he’s concerned about Winthrop using its savings to balance the school’s budget for the past several years. Earlier this year, lawmakers were told Winthrop could use as much as $2 million from its reserve fund to meet expenses, King said.

Winthrop officials told The Herald on Monday that they had not received official notification from state leaders about the audit request.

Board of Trustees Chairwoman Kathy Bigham said the university respects the process that King and other lawmakers have used to request the audit and that Winthrop officials will cooperate fully and answer any questions.

King has always been a friend of Winthrop’s, Bigham said, and she and other school leaders look forward to working with him and other legislators.

The state’s public agencies, such as Winthrop and other state taxpayer-supported schools, can be reviewed by the Legislative Audit Council at the request of lawmakers. The audit council plays an oversight role that helps state lawmakers decide whether public agencies are lawfully and efficiently using tax dollars and whether state-funded programs are effective.

The Legislative Audit Council last reviewed Winthrop’s finances in the mid-1990s, producing a report in 1997 citing several issues. The university’s administration at the time responded to the auditors’ findings, challenging some aspects and agreeing to look into some of the issues the review raised.

A legislative letter, such as King’s, requesting an audit does not guarantee a review but it is a required step in the process. State law calls for at least five legislators to sign a letter asking for an audit. Before an audit begins, the Legislative Audit Council board must decide whether a review is needed.

Board members could decide as early as mid-April whether to audit Winthrop, officials said. The board could also decide to delay action on King’s request.

King says he is worried Winthrop could be headed for financial trouble if the pattern of using reserve funds or savings isn’t slowed down or stopped. He and other House members, King said, have requested the audit to ensure Winthrop doesn’t face the same problems South Carolina State University has confronted in recent years.

State officials have said S.C. State has nearly $10 million in unpaid bills for campus services. The school also received a $6 million loan from the state in early 2014 to help keep its doors open.

S.C. State trustees fired their president earlier this month, and the university could lose its academic accreditations. Some South Carolina lawmakers made a failed attempt last month to temporarily shut down the state’s only historically-black public university.

Some lawmakers also asked this month for a Legislative Audit Council review of S.C. State’s financial deficit, its administration, its trustees, its office of the president, and other areas of the university. Twenty-four lawmakers signed a letter on March 5 asking for the S.C. State review.

Among South Carolina public universities, Winthrop educates the second highest number of African-American students, behind S.C. State, King said. He says he wants to make sure black students are receiving enough help to stay in school at Winthrop and graduate on time.

As a leader in the Legislative Black Caucus and a state representative in Winthrop’s home county, King says he believes it’s part of his duties to make sure the university remains solvent and vibrant for all students, especially the African-American community it serves.

Winthrop is one of the local area’s largest “economic engines,” he said, adding that he wants the university to prosper and believes an audit is necessary to uncover any potential financial issues.

Beyond finances, King hopes the audit looks into Winthrop’s hiring of minority administrators and faculty members. The university, he said, needs more African-American and female employees in top leadership roles.

New president would deal with potential audit

Some Winthrop professors have lamented that the university’s faculty and staff ranks aren’t diverse enough. The topic was mentioned frequently during the past few months as Winthrop searched for its next president.

Other high priorities mentioned during the presidential search included: boosting Winthrop’s fundraising efforts to support student scholarships and academic programs; increasing the school’s enrollment to support its overall budget; improving employee morale; and continuing economic development partnerships with local businesses and municipalities.

Earlier this month, the Winthrop Board of Trustees selected Dan Mahony of Kent State University to become the college’s 11th president. He plans to take office this summer. The past academic year at Winthrop, Provost Debra Boyd served as acting president.

If state officials approve the requested audit at Winthrop, Mahony would likely be at the helm of the university during the review.

King is joined by six other House members asking for the Legislative Audit Council review at Winthrop. Others are: House Minority Leader Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia; Rep. Jerry Govan, Jr., D-Orangeburg; Rep. Patricia Henegan, D-Malboro; Rep. Justin Bamberg, D-Bamberg; Rep. Mia McLeod, D-Richland; Rep. Cezar McKnight, D-Williamsburg. All are members of the Legislative Black Caucus.

The letter, dated March 9, asks for state auditors to “examine Winthrop’s financial condition and determine if the college is meeting its mission and operating in a sound fiscal manner pursuant to accepted accounting principles.”

Next month, the Legislative Audit Council’s five-member board will consider audit requests for Winthrop, S.C. State and the University of South Carolina’s small business development center, said Director Earle Powell.

The work of state auditors can take several months, Powell said.

Recently, the board approved a review of some operations at South Carolina’s Department of Transportation – a hot-button topic as lawmakers seek to deal with the state’s crumbling infrastructure.

Other recent notable audits include a Legislative Audit Council review of the Department of Social Services, which uncovered several operational shortcomings, and a review of the distribution of state lottery funds, which revealed that state agencies weren’t verifying student eligibility before awarding some college scholarships.

According to the Legislative Audit Council’s website, S.C. State and Clemson University were the most recent public colleges to undergo a review by state auditors at the request of lawmakers. The S.C. State audit in 2011 reviewed construction of the university’s transportation center and the center’s spending. That same year, the audit council reviewed Clemson’s public service activities.

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 at 9:37 PM with the headline "SC lawmakers want major audit at Winthrop."