House approves new plan to oust S.C. State trustees

The state House approved a new plan Thursday to remove the board of the financially troubled S.C. State University.

The House passed a bill Thursday that would replace the 10-member board with seven interim trustees appointed by members of the S.C. Budget and Control Board and heads of the House and Senate education committees.

Original House and Senate proposals both called for five temporary S.C. State trustees, but they did not agree on who should appoint them.

The House wanted appointments by the Budget and Control Board. The Senate wants appointments made by lawmakers and Gov. Nikki Haley.

The amendment passed in the House on Thursday combines both appointment proposals and expands the temporary board to seven members.

The bill was sent back to the Senate.

The temporary trustees would run the state’s only historically black public college until June 2018. Lawmakers would appoint a new permanent board after that.

The bill was passed as the current S.C. State board was meeting in Orangeburg.

Lawmakers took the drastic step to replace trustees after the S.C State’s deficit grew despite the school receiving $7.5 million in extra state aid and loans since the fall.

S.C. State has a $17 million deficit, mostly in overdue bills, from not reducing budgets as enrollment and state funding fell in recent years. The deficit is forecast to reach $23.5 million by the end of June.

S.C. State’s accreditation was placed on probation last year on financial and governance issues.

Correction: An original version of this story misstated that the House and Senate had reached an agreement on ousting S.C. State trustees.

This story was originally published April 23, 2015 at 11:59 AM with the headline "House approves new plan to oust S.C. State trustees."