Audit uncovers problems with BOG operations

Throughout much of the same time period during which Florida’s Board of Governors ran a “Task Force on FAMU Finance and Operational Control Issues,” a number of problems in its own house went uncorrected.

The Florida auditor general’s office recently released its first operational audit of the board, which was created by a state constitutional amendment in 2002.

State auditors reported that the BOG had not adopted rules to ensure that public universities maintain safe and sanitary educational plants, as required by the Florida Statues. They added that the provisions should specifically include “periodic inspections of educational facilities and ancillary plants.”

Chancellor Mark Rosenberg defended the BOG’s actions, claiming that the board had given universities “regulations” that were appropriate for the matter. Nonetheless, his explanation failed to persuade state auditors to strike the finding.

The audit also faulted the BOG for failing to properly document the decision-making process it used when it reviewed proposals for the 21st Century World Class Scholars Program, a $20 million legislatively-funded initiative that provides matching grants to help universities lure science and technology professors.

Additionally, auditors frowned upon the way the BOG administered the Research and Economic Development Investment Program, another matching grant fund. According to the report, the BOG did not fulfill all the required statutory obligations before it disbursed two grants, totaling $23.25 million, to the University of Florida.

The audit, which has gone practically unnoticed by the Florida media, comes at a time when the BOG is trying to improve its image as a body committed to system-wide accountability.

The board’s FAMU task force, funded with $1 million in state funds, came under fire earlier this year from state senators who questioned whether the BOG had wasted the money.

“This whole thing to me is just a bunch of fluff," state Sen. Jeremy Ring (D-Margate) told the task force. "What I really want to know is what did you find and why should we continue to pay for you.”

Some lawmakers also raked Rosenberg over the coals for “requesting” money from public university foundations to pad his $231,750 salary and provide perks such as a car allowance.

The full operational audit, along with the chancellor’s responses, is available here.

Chancellor search: BOG aims to fix credibility problem