House Committee Approves Amendment Not to Close SC State

Columbia , S.C. (WOLO) — The Ways and Means Committee unanimously approved a new amendment Wednesday that will not close down South Carolina State University. Representative James Merrill introduced the new amendment Wednesday after tabling his original proviso that if passed, could have closed the school for one year. The amendment says under the new amendment the existing members of the Board of Trustees will be replaced by an interim Board of Trustees, made up of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, In addition, the interim board will be directed to remove the University’s President and replace him with an interim President. The interim President will work with the Board to find resolutions to the University’s current financial crisis and ultimately be responsible for making recommendations on how to fix the situation to the General Assembly, Board of Trustees, Executive Budget Office, and State Fiscal Accountability Authority. Representatives said they never wanted to close the school, but they needed to take action in order to get the University back on it’s feet. “I think it’s been forgotten that we are writing budget here and we are under a time crunch. We have to have our budget done in the next few weeks which is why this has taken so long, which is why certain courses of action were called upon,” said Rep. Merrill. “If we gave money just blankly, put money on the line, then everybody would look down the line and say how in the world did it get to this point?” he added. With the approval of the new amendment, the previous proviso that would have closed South Carolina State University has been tabled. Following the committee’s decision House Speaker Jay Lucas released the following statement: “South Carolina State has served our state well for decades, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that the institution is failing to provide a valuable education to its students.” Speaker Lucas stated. “Ignoring these struggles and allowing the University to continue spiraling down a path of financial and educational deficiency is irresponsible. Today’s decision by the House Ways and Means Committee is a step in the right direction. As sensitive as this issue is, rest assured that our sole purpose is to deliver the necessary assistance this situation requires so that South Carolina State can return to its full potential.” South Carolina State University President, Thomas Elzey, released the following statement late Wednesday, after the committees decision: “As president, my first priority continues to be the students of SC State University. We remain keenly focused on preserving the legacy of this great university and on continuing to doing everything necessary to move it forward. We will stay the course, taking deliberate actions to address the critical matters required to stabilize this institution. Those include recruiting and enrolling a robust fall class, retaining our current scholars, increasing fundraising and alumni engagement and maintaining our SACSCOC accreditation, all while working with lawmakers to build a financially stable and viable institution that will serve South Carolina, this nation and the world for many years to come.”