MINOT, N.D. (AP) — The state Board of Higher Education agreed Thursday to let North Dakota State University use nearly $200,000 of its own money to cover cost overruns for a new president's house.
The board had said it would not allow state money to be used to cover added costs for new houses at NDSU and the University of North Dakota. It had estimated that the houses would cost about $900,000 each, and the construction was to be financed with private money. The price tag for NDSU's house skyrocketed to more than $2 million.
The NDSU Development Foundation, the school's fundraising arm, had agreed to cover all but about $196,000 of the extra costs. Under the plan approved by the board Thursday, the balance will be paid from NDSU funds that are not part of tuition or taxpayer dollars, including money from interest income and commission on soft drinks.
The plan still needs the approval of the Legislature's Budget Section, which meets Dec. 1. Board President Richie Smith said he expects questions from legislators.
"It's going to be a whole new ballgame," Smith said.
UND professor Jon Jackson, the faculty adviser to the board, said the foundation should put the money to better use, possibly for new programs.
"I personally like the idea of holding the people who took on the authority to build those houses accountable for funding them," Jackson said.
The NDSU foundation had agreed on Oct. 1 to pay more than $373,000 of the extra costs, but it balked at paying about $196,000 in bills that surfaced in the last month.
The cost overrun on the president's home was one of the issues that led to the resignation of
NDSU President Joseph Chapman. It also led the board to call for an audit and make policy changes on the way future projects will be handled.
More than $261,000 in cost overruns for the UND house and a nearby alumni center will be paid for with private money, university chancellor Bill Goetz said Thursday.
"The board members and I feel very comfortable with situation at UND," Goetz said.
Board member Duaine Espegard said the agreement with NDSU raises new questions about school slush funds.
"We may move on from this, and we should move on from this, but we should also have an understanding on what to do with that money in the future," Espegard said.
