CSU’s trustees will hold a public meeting at Columbus City Hall at 4 p.m. Thursday for a “FY25 Budget Review.” They are expected to approve the document at that time, one day before the Friday deadline.
“When we submit the plan, there cannot be a gap,” CSU President Morakinyo Kuti said Friday, referring to the difference between the university’s expenses and revenue. “Now that we have the data necessary ... we will input the actual data from the students, see what the gap is, and then close the gap.”
Kuti assumed the role of CSU president in July. The college in Wilberforce, just north of Xenia, alerted the state about discrepancies in its finances in mid-September. Then Central State was placed on fiscal watch in October after being unable to make certain vendor payments, according to the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
Last week’s review of Central State University’s financials indicated that the university will start to see recouped costs from layoffs in the next couple of months, as the university finalizes its enrollment numbers for the spring.
The recouped personnel costs are expected to show up by the end of February, due to layoffs in December. Central State has already seen some reductions in expenditures due to layoffs that occurred in September.
The university’s budget projections for 2025 will be updated once final enrollment numbers are in for the spring semester, trustees were told Friday.
The fiscal watch designation requires the university to develop a financial recovery plan, and requires increased financial reporting to the state, more board of trustee engagement and evaluation by the state auditor, according to the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
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