According to a report that was presented to Thursday’s Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning board meeting, Jackson State University’s cash reserve — which is money that can be used for ongoing discretionary operations — fell from $37 million down to $4 million in just four years. The board hired Matthews, Cutrer, and Lindsay, an accounting firm, to evaluate the university’s finances in fiscal years 2012 and 2016. The university’s adjusted cashflow surplus fell from $17 million down to a deficit at $25 million — nearly 150 percent. The university is losing money and this cash flow is crucial to service institutional debt. Doug Rouse, president, IHL board said, “This information is deeply concerning.” He also stated that they have been discussing housing and other issues at Jackson State University. I don’t have much to add. It is very worrying. “We will make some decisions.” President Carolyn Meyers, Jackson State University, sent an email Tuesday to students, faculty, and staff. She highlighted the achievements of the university during her five-year tenure, including the growing student population, and the expansions in program offerings. JSU currently has 9,508 students. Glenn Boyce (commissioner of Higher Education) stated that the issue is that JSU wants to ensure that students are well-cared for. “We want to ensure that the high-quality education (Jackson State University’s) has provided for many years is maintained. We want to know how this happened. Is there a structural problem that needs to be fixed?” In June 2015, the board asked for a cost management plan. However, it was not provided with a viable plan. Four hours after the meeting, Jackson State University issued a press release stating that it was aware of financial problems. The release said that IHL’s news release applies to the university’s cash reserves, or its savings account. This does not affect the university’s daily operating budget. The university has never been insolvent at any time. The press release states that they expect these actions to add $10 million to cash reserves before the end of the fiscal, which is June 30, 2017. Olivia Goodheart, JSU spokesperson said that “this is not unusual.” “This has happened before at other state universities, and they have recovered so this isn’t an unusual circumstance.” Caron Blanton, spokesperson for IHL, stated that the work of Matthews, Cutrer and Lindsay will be completed in two phases. It is not known how long the project will take. JSU’s financial situation will be reviewed in the first phase. The firm will meet weekly with IHL staff to set objectives and goals, create a month-to–month budget to determine consumption rates, review existing cost savings measures, estimate tuition cash collections annually, determine liquidity of receivables, and develop a budget target to preserve working capital. The second phase will involve the development of a cost-saving proposal. The firm will examine data from federal grant closings, administrative overhead and support staff overhead, as well as data on auxiliary operations, sustainability for academic program offerings, branch locations, utility costs, and contractual obligations. To support this important work, you can make a regular donation to the Spring Member Drive today.