Effectively immediately upon the Governor's signature on April 8, 2022, HB 250 provided the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) with $23 million in emergency funding to cover Kentucky State University's (KSU) current year shortfall. HB 250 also set forth a myriad of duties and responsibilities for KSU and CPE related to KSU's recovery. Among those was the requirement that CPE create and oversee a Management Improvement Plan (Plan) for KSU designed to assist with organizational and financial stability. The Plan shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
A comprehensive cataloging and review of university policies and procedures to ensure efficiency and compliance with state and federal law;
Guidelines for salary ranges and benefits for all faculty, staff and administrators;
Mandatory board member training and development, including but not limited to financial oversight and effective committee structure;
Academic program offerings, course offerings and faculty productivity guidelines;
Accounting and fiscal reporting systems, collections, budget, and internal controls over expenditures and financial reporting;
Student success and enrollment management strategies;
Student academic progress and results; and
Development of online curricula with the intent of offering bachelor's and master's degrees online.
On April 15, 2022, pursuant to SB 265 (2022), newly appointed KSU Board of Regents members were confirmed by the Senate. Also on April 15, 2022, CPE adopted a KSU Expenditure Approval Policy to effectuate the HB 250 requirement that CPE approve all KSU expenditures over $5,000 until declaration of KSU's financial stability. CPE also approved a disbursement of $17.5 million of the $23 million authorized to allow KSU to meet its current year financial obligations.
On April 27, 2022, the KSU Board of Regents held its first meeting with the newly confirmed members. During that meeting several items of business were conducted, including the selection of a chair and vice chair. CPE Vice President and General Counsel Travis Powell provided an overview of HB 250.
On May 9, 2022, the board met again and action was taken to engage Protiviti Government Services, Inc. (a subsidiary of Robert Half International) for assistance with the compilation of annual financial statements for both fiscal years 2021 and 2022. The board also approved the hiring of The Registry Advisory Services to provide candidates for the position of interim president. The board indicated its plans to have candidates to review at its next meeting in early June. In addition, a new financial exigency policy was adopted per the requirements of HB 250.
At its regular meeting on June 17, 2022, CPE will consider and likely approve a final FY 2022 disbursement of the $23 million allocated in HB 250.
Additional requirements contained in HB 250 include: