This morning there is more information about the shortfall that caused Anthony Tricoli to step down from his post as Georgia Perimeter College President.
In a May 7 letter sent to the GPC community, University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby called the president’s departure a “difficult moment.”
On Tuesday, May 8, the Naples Daily News reported that Tricoli is one of more than three dozen candidates vying for a job as president of Edison State College in Fort Myers, Fla. Tricoli is currently working at the university system office. The Atlanta Journal Constitution on Wednesday, May 9, reported that the Board of Regents selected Rob Watts to serve as interim president at GPC.
There has been some confusion about details of Tricoli’s resignation. Some media reports said there was an audit detailing a $16 million shortfall that prompted Tricoli’s departure. However, John Millsaps, Associate Vice Chancellor for Media & Publications with the Board of Regents said no such document exists after the Dunwoody Reporter asked for it.
“There is no new or special ‘audit’ that led to discovery of the institution’s budget shortfall,” Millsaps said in an email. “It is my understanding that this was made known internally by the campus as it looked at budget in terms of actual revenues and expenditures.”
Huckaby’s letter said “leadership” at GPC informed the system of the shortfall in the current fiscal year that ends June 30, 2012 which prompted an investigation.
“Immediately upon learning of the shortfall, system fiscal and audit staff began working with GPC staff to determine the scope of the shortfall,” he wrote.
The letter also describes how the system is working to curb costs to deal with this new budget complication.
“Prior to alerting the system office, GPC had already taken steps to control spending for the remainder of FY (Fiscal Year) 2012,” Huckaby wrote. “These steps were expanded when the size of the shortfall was determined. These steps include curtailing travel, cancelling various encumbrances and purchase orders, delaying hiring, and suspending contracts. In addition the system will reallocate funds internally and will ensure that GPC will finish FY12 with a balanced budget.”
Huckaby said GPC staff is working on a plan to balance the Fiscal 2013 budget, and said tuition and fees will not be increased beyond what the Board of Regents approved in April.
“We do not know at this time precisely the impact in every budget area, but it will be significant and will likely impact personnel,” Huckaby wrote.
Millsaps said he could not answer a question about what impacts the budget cutting measures would have on GPC’s Dunwoody campus.
“As to the specific impact on the Dunwoody campus, I cannot speak to that,” he said. “This question relates to the budget decisions that will be made by the institution.”
