COLUMBIA, S.C. ― South Carolina State University still owes $6.5 million on bills and needs more help from the state to move forward, President Thomas Elzey told the Budget and Control Board on Tuesday.
The state’s only public historically Black university is seeking a $12 million loan to be disbursed over three years, with a first installment this fiscal year of $6 million, followed by $4 million next year. That request must first be approved by a legislative panel and could officially go before the state’s financial oversight board as early as December.
But its chairwoman, Gov. Nikki Haley, said she can’t imagine voting on the idea until an accounting firm hired by the board completes its review. The contracted firm, Elliott Davis, expects the audit to take three to four months, according to the contract signed last week.
“We’ve got to go through this before we throw more money at the situation,” Haley said after the meeting.
Senate President Pro Tem Hugh Leatherman, a board member, said he fully supports the loan, as it’s the recommendation of a panel of former and current college presidents he put together.
The new request is in addition to the $6 million loan Haley pushed last spring ― $500,000 of which was set aside to pay for the audit. Leatherman voted against that plan, saying it didn’t solve anything.
