Foley weighs in on colleges' spat

LINCOLN — The state auditor has weighed in on the dispute involving Nebraska’s six community colleges.

Mike Foley recommended in an audit that better oversight and clearer state laws might help resolve the squabble that pits Omaha-based Metropolitan Community College against the five other community colleges.

The Foley audit looked at the system used to distribute $88.6 million a year in state aid to the colleges. Foley on Wednesday called the current system “really wild,” while a higher education official called it “a mess.”

“This is a significant amount of money. There needs to be great integrity in the way it’s distributed,” said Marshall Hill, executive director of the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education.

Last week, that agency made recommendations similar to the auditor’s for better oversight of the state aid distribution.

Metro has filed a lawsuit claiming that the five other colleges “contrived” revenue figures that cost the Omaha college $10.8 million in state aid for 2009-10.

Foley’s audit indicated that in August, Metro ignored guidelines set by an association of community colleges on how to report tuition and fee income — a key component in calculating state aid for each institution.

The audit also indicated that the Nebraska Association of Community Colleges has no legal authority to set such guidelines.

Regardless, the five other colleges eventually adjusted their tuition and fee report to mirror how Metro had calculated its revenue.

Foley said the Legislature needs to designate an independent entity that has the power to define what figures will be used to calculate state aid and to verify that the numbers are correct.

Metro officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday. College offices were closed due to the storm.

Metro has said previously that it has the authority to submit the revenue numbers it did.

Dennis Baack, executive director of the community college association, which kicked Metro out of its organization earlier this year, said he welcomed the auditor’s recommendation.

Baack said the five other colleges had questioned the figures submitted by Metro but had no authority to double-check them. Facing deadlines to set budgets, he said, the other colleges amended their revenue figures by deducting tuition charged on construction projects.

Doing that, according to the state audit, reduced Metro’s state aid and increased what the other colleges received by between $1.4 million and $5.5 million.

Foley said the spat is similar to the jockeying by K-12 schools over state aid allocations.

Hill said he’s confident that the Legislature will resolve the issue in its next session, which begins Jan. 6.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com

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