LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky State University has been underfunded by more than $172 million over the last three decades, according to the U.S. Education and Agricultural secretaries.
Governors in 16 states, including Kentucky, that have historically Black land-grant universities received letters. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack want states to increase funding.
Most states approve funding for the land-grant universities through the legislature. Letters were also sent to governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
The nation’s land-grant universities were founded in the 19th century on federal land to further agricultural instruction and research. Federal law requires states to provide an equitable distribution of state funding for all land-grant universities, but that hasn’t happened with many historically Black ones, a new analysis found.
The federal agencies used data from the National Center for Education Statistics and found the funding disparity in 16 of 18 states that house Black land grants. Delaware and Ohio provided equitable funding, the analysis found.
"Unacceptable funding inequities have forced many of our nation’s distinguished historically Black colleges and universities to operate with inadequate resources and delay critical investments in everything from campus infrastructure to research and development to student support services," Cardona said in a statement Monday.
The university in Frankfort named Dr. Koffi C. Akakpo as the school’s 19th president in May. The university hadn't had a permanent leader since July 2021, when M. Christopher Brown II resigned amid growing concerns about the school’s financial health.
State lawmakers stepped in and passed a bill last year that included $23 million to address a budget shortfall, with measures in place to create a management improvement plan and financial accountability.
An audit ordered last year revealed a “chaotic accounting environment” that lead to undocumented credit card transactions, extravagant bonuses and a lack of controls that put millions of dollars in federal grant funding at risk. It primarily focused on the school’s financial and internal policies between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2021.
Lawmakers also passed a bill last year that nearly replaced all members of KSU’s Board of Regents, and new leaders at the school have been working diligently to address the problems.
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Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.
