Two weeks after a heated city corridor amongst Saint Augustine’s College alumni and anxious group members, Board Chairman Brian Boulware is responding to what he calls “misinformation” circulating on social media and public boards. Throughout the April 11 city corridor hosted by Roland Martin, attendees accused the board of withholding info.
“We have now shunned participating in public disputes to guard the college’s potential to barter with companions, reply to accrediting our bodies, and function with integrity in accordance with its authorized obligations,” mentioned Boulware. “Nonetheless, because the college approaches a important milestone within the accreditation course of, and the character and quantity of false narratives circulated, it’s time to make clear the details. We should communicate the reality plainly and straight.”
It’s been an uphill battle for one among North Carolina’s oldest HBCU. The college was positioned on probation in 2022 after failing to fulfill accreditation requirements. The establishment has confronted monetary points totaling greater than $30 million. The college additionally has almost $10 million in tax liens.
Earlier this 12 months, Saint Augustine’s College misplaced its enchantment to keep up accreditation with the Affiliation of Schools and Faculties Fee on School (SACSCOC).
In his handle to the group, Boulware acknowledged the present challenges dealing with Saint Augustine’s College “didn’t come up in a single day.” He saidproblems started in 2012 when former college leaders took a $6 million mortgage towards the college’s $13 million endowment.
“No funds had been made on that mortgage for seven years, inflicting the entire to balloon with curiosity and costs,” says Boulware. “In November 2024, the mortgage was known as by its creditor, ensuing within the lack of $11 million from the endowment.”
Saint Augustine’s College Board Chairman Claims Earlier Leaders Misused Funds
The mortgage towards the the college’s endowment was the tip of the ice burg. In keeping with Boulware, 90% of federal grants the college obtained in in 2016 had been “missed or drawn down with fraudulent documentation,” which severely jeopardized the college’s credibility with authorities companions.
Boulware additionally claims earlier leaders let the next occur:
- In 2018, administrative workers coordinated with a vendor to control monetary information to falsify monetary statements introduced to the accrediting physique, SACSCOC.
- Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the college obtained thousands and thousands of {dollars} in federal reduction funds. Nonetheless, college workers wired a good portion to unknown sources.
- No audits had been accomplished from 2020 to 2024. The administration relied on pandemic-related waivers as an excuse, which masked the continued submission of inaccurate monetary information.
- Between 2021 and 2023, the administration permitted college students to enroll and graduate with out Board approval, regardless of 76% of scholar accounts carrying balances exceeding $30,000. This undermined the college’s monetary stability and compliance with federal help rules.
- From 2020 to 2023, the administration didn’t pay any payroll taxes to the IRS. Regardless of assembly in particular person with the IRS throughout this time, the administration did not notify the Board of this important legal responsibility info.
- From 2021 to December 2023, the administration willingly mislead the board by deliberately withholding info and submitting false monetary reviews. This prompted noncompliance with federal businesses and crippled the college’s potential to function effectively.
“These points will not be allegations. They’re documented realities,” Boulware mentioned.
Boulware, who joined the Board of Trustees in 2019 and was elected Chairman in 2024, mentioned “There may be loads of blame, and plenty of people who now try to shift blame to the present Board had been both silent or complicit prior to now. On the identical time, they held positions of energy as their administration made these selections.”
How Saint Augustine’s College Board Says The Faculty Is Shifting Ahead
During the last 18 months, Boulware mentioned the varsity has taken “unprecedented steps” to reverse years in decline. The board has accomplished 4 years of overdue audits and restored payroll and staff advantages.
Talking on behalf the board, Boulware mentioned college leaders are preventing for its future and never simply its “fame,” and welcomes everybody to “contribute constructively to that mission.”
“We perceive the anger, concern, and frustration many in our alumni group really feel. We additionally know that social media commentary is just not an alternative choice to verified proof or authorized due course of,” he added. “Saint Augustine’s College now wants unity, not division; hope, not hysteria; options, not slander […] We won’t enable disinformation to outline us. The work earlier than us is much too essential.”
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