ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The University of Central Florida admits another $10 million in funds was misused for construction projects.
The board met Thursday to discuss the spending issues.
“I want to know exactly how this happened. I want to know exactly who knowingly was involved in making this decision,” said Board of Trustees Chairman Marcos Marchena.
He said the university is putting large construction plans on hold for now.
“I expect that we will be able to get back to moving forward with other projects, but we’re going to be much more careful about identifying the sources of funds,” said Marchena.
In total, UCF has acknowledged misspending roughly $48 million in construction projects over the past five years.
This total includes the previously disclosed $38 million misspent on the new Trevor Colbourn Hall
The three projects totaling $10 million include the Band Building, Facilities Surplus Showroom & Postal Hub and furniture and lab build-out for the Research 1 Building.
Here’s a list of UCF projects where funds were either inappropriately spent or spending is now question #WFTV pic.twitter.com/k4LqqKofD7
— Michael Lopardi (@MLopardiWFTV) September 20, 2018
The university's chief financial officer, William Merck, resigned last week after an audit revealed that the school had improperly used the state funds for the construction of Trevor Colbourn Hall instead of for operations like instruction, maintenance and student services.
The UCF Board of Trustees approved a measure to replenish the funds that were misspent with funds from other accounts. Two trustees voted no, arguing the move was rushed considering the revelations of the $10 million.
The money in question can only be used for salaries and operating costs, not new construction. On Thursday, trustees moved money from other accounts to replenish the funds.
“We will not have the flexibility that we would've had had those funds been available,” said Marchena.
UCF President Whittaker, who wasn't president at the time, said he did not know funds were inappropriately used even though his signature appears on some documents. Whittaker said he trusted the former CFO.
Last week, the school said it was hiring an outside law firm to conduct another investigation into the misuse of the money.
No major projects will move forward until the law firm completes its investigation. Trustees said they want to know whether anyone else aside from Merck should face consequences.
Cox Media Group
