RALEIGH — In the wake of an audit investigation of Halifax Community College, State Auditor Les Merritt is recommending the community college system have better monitoring of employment contracts, by-laws, and local boards, and improved training programs for trustees and business office personnel.
The recommendations were released Tuesday in a management letter to State Board of Community Colleges Chair Hilda Pinnix-Ragland. It was also released on the same day as an audit investigation of Halifax Community College President Ted Gasper’s activities found several violations, including questionable reimbursements and the president’s contracts being approved with the board not being aware of some amendments.
“These recommendations come not just from one review or a single audit, but several that we have conducted over the last several years,” Merritt said in a press release. “We believe these are key areas that can be part of a proactive plan to strengthen the financial accountability and management of North Carolina’s community college system.”
In the management letter, Merritt writes that the state community college system should obtain, review, and approve all employment contracts for the 59 institutions. He writes that state board approval of presidential contracts “could prevent unanticipated expenditures related to contract issues.” Gasper’s contract included a one-year annual extension to his four-year contract and a stipulation that increased his buyout clause amount, amendments that were not made available to board of trustees before a vote on the contract was taken.
The letter addresses concerns that the Halifax Community College Board’s by-laws were in violation of the North Carolina general statutes, specifically regarding the election of the board chairman. Merritt recommends in the letter that the state board should review each college’s bylaws to ensure that they comply with state law.
Merritt also recommended that the system provide trustees with training on issues such as allowable uses of college funds and delegation of board authority to college presidents. He also suggests the system provide board members with training sessions on parliamentary procedure, something that he said was lacking at Halifax Community College.
Merritt also said that because of a high rate of turnover in colleges’ business offices, employees should be taught financial statement preparation, financial aid guidelines, and other procedures including applicable use of college funds.
“Such training might reduce the occurrence of questionable financial transactions,” Merritt wrote.
Merritt suggested that the state system consider the need for a statewide internal audit function. This would allow the system to conduct an internal audit for an operational and financial review of the 59 institutions.
“We have a community college system that has long been a model for the nation,” Merritt said in the press release. “We are offering these suggestions in the spirit of helping to strengthen the financial oversight and accountability of that system.”
Shannon Blosser (sblosser@popecenter.org) is a staff writer with the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in Chapel Hill.