Atkins Calls for Investigation into MnSCU Payouts

In advance of a KSTP news report airing on Sunday night, District 39B Rep. Joe Atkins (DFL) has called for an investigation into allegations of excessive payments to retiring Minnesota State Colleges and Universities officials.

In a letter dated Friday, Nov. 18, to District 10A Rep. Bud Nornes (R), who is the chair of the House's Higher Education Policy and Finance Committee, Atkins asks the committee to schedule a hearing to look into KSTP's allegations.

The purpose of a hearing, Atkins wrote, would be to examine the compensation that MnSCU officials receive upon retirement, ascertain its size and scope, and determine whether there has been appropriate oversight and transparency relative to these payouts.

"In spite of the sizeable sums reportedly involved, I am not proposing a rush to judgment, nor do I necessarily fault any individual MnSCU employee or official for bargaining strenuously for the best compensation package possible," Atkins wrote in his letter. "A hearing will help determine the extent to which greater oversight, transparency and reform are necessary."

In a preview of its report, which will air at 10 p.m. on Sunday, KSTP alleges that high-level MnSCU officials are receiving "six-figure payouts" upon retirement. The payments those officials received for accumulated, unused sick leave and vacation time, as well as severance, make up a portion of the payouts, according to KSTP's teaser. Footage of the campus is included in the preview.

This isn't the first time the MnSCU system has drawn fire for the incentives and bonuses it gives to high-level employees. In September, union workers protested the $50,000 performance bonus offered to outgoing MnSCU Chancellor James McCormick, according to this Minnesota Public Radio report. At the time, the protestors argued that the incentives ought to have been held back this year in light of the state's budget problems, MPR wrote.

Inver Hills Community College has seen the retirement of several higher-level employees over the last several years. In 2009, former Inver Hills Community College President Cheryl Frank retired after an 11-year tenure at the school. Earlier this year, . It remains to be seen whether either retired official is part of KSTP's investigation.

Reached by phone on Friday afternoon, MnSCU spokeswoman Melinda Voss declined to give any immediate comments on the investigation or Rep. Joe Atkins' letter.

In June, MnSCU's Board of Trustees approved tuition hikes effective this fall for the 2011-2012 school year. Students attending a MnSCU state college saw a 3.7 percent tuition increase, while students at one of MnSCU's seven state universities saw a 4.8 percent tuition hike.

According to a MnSCU press release issued in June, the MnSCU system will operate with $76 million less during the 2012 year than it had during the current fiscal year—the result of budget cuts made earlier this year.

A call to Inver Hills Community College wasn't immediately returned on Friday afternoon.

To view Atkins' letter, click on the PDF file attached to this article.