With state officials still watching closely, Danville Area Community College trustees have voted to bring in outside forensic accountants and to sign off on a batch of staff exits that come with sizable checks attached. College leaders say the moves are aimed at rooting out any financial irregularities and tightening how money is handled, especially in grant-funded programs.
Board hires forensic accounting firm
Trustees approved hiring the Peoria branch of CliftonLarsonAllen for a forensic assessment designed to flag potential irregularities and recommend fixes. The board pegged the work at about $80,000, not including travel, technology and client-support fees. According to The News-Gazette, the college plans to pay for the review out of its liability, protection and settlement funds.
State oversight and the adult-education probe
The stepped-up scrutiny follows DACC’s own report of suspected misappropriation and falsified test scores in its Adult Education program, which triggered an on-site monitoring review by the Illinois Community College Board, the agency that oversees compliance for adult-education grants. For a closer look at the case and its wider implications, see background coverage from Community College News Now.
Personnel shake-up and board debate
On the personnel front, trustees approved voluntary-separation packages and accepted the resignation of Terri Cummings, dean of business and technology. The voluntary separations were reported to include $30,000 payouts for several employees. The board also named Amanda Turner as dean of students and Penny McConnell as interim vice president of academic affairs, both effective July 1.
Trustees signed off on salary adjustments and other budget items and acknowledged a $100,000 state grant that will help cover part of a Hegeler Hall kitchen remodel. The money moves did not come without tension. Board Chair Greg Wolfe defended how the meeting was run, saying “the meeting is held in public but is not a public meeting,” while Chief Financial Officer Tammy Betancourt told trustees the college is not required to solicit bids for certain professional services under community college procurement law. Those remarks drew criticism from some in the audience, according to The News-Gazette.
What’s next
The board said it will revisit Board Policy No. 1014, which caps individual public-comment time and the total length of public comment, and put any proposed changes on a future agenda while the Illinois Community College Board review continues. Community members packed the meeting and voiced frustration over governance and budget decisions, and local coverage has tracked both the debate and the growing scrutiny of DACC’s grant reporting and controls, as detailed by CNHI.
