Spending of student fees checked at CCSN

Jennifer Knight

Monday, Aug. 20, 2001 | 10:57 a.m.

RENO -- A new administration at the Community College of Southern Nevada has taken steps to change the way student fees are spent.

Ron Remington, CCSN's newly appointed president, hired a director of student activities, a new position. The new director, Bobbi Heath, will advise student government on compliance with Board of Regents bylaws, as well as budgeting issues.

Also, the school's director of business services, Dan Morris, was given the new function of financial manager to student government. He will institute a system of checks and balances on the spending of student fees.

And student officers and senators are exploring ways to change their constitution to prevent future spending abuses.

"I've taken a lot of heat about parties that I wasn't even invited to," Calvin Hooks, CCSN's newly elected student government president, told the Board of Regents on Friday.

Hooks promised regents there would be a change from the way previous administrations spent money.

"If we lock it down in the constitution, that means whoever takes over is going to have to follow that," Hooks said.

The community college's student government has been under fire since the revelation of an audit that showed questionable spending of student fees.

A February 2000 audit performed by CCSN's Finance and Administration office found that a large portion of the student government's $500,000-a-year budget had been going to pay for large parties -- some of which weren't well attended. Other expenses, such as out-of-town junkets and restaurant vouchers, were unaccounted for and raised concern among school officials.

Most of the spending problems occurred under previous student government leaders, who served under the administration of Richard Moore. Moore now is founding president of the Nevada State College at Henderson and is trying to get that school off the ground by partnering with CCSN.

As Hooks finished his presentation to regents Friday, he held up a black T-shirt, which carried the words: "It's a new day at CCSN." He tossed it on Moore's desk, then left.

Moore could not be reached for comment.

Under Moore's direction, the reporting structure was looser than at other colleges in the system.

For example, the faculty adviser appointed to UNLV's student government works in the business services department and helps with budgeting and compliance issues. That helps provide continuity from one year to the next, even when student leadership changes.

Most of CCSN's past advisers had no connection with business services or any other arm of the college that dealt with finances. That led to approval of most expenses without question, many administrators said.

Board of Regents' bylaws mandate that a report of student government spending be made available to the public every year, but it doesn't specify how. They also stipulate that expenditures be made according to generally accepted accounting practices.

CCSN's new structure will work similarly to UNLV's in that the newly appointed student adviser will work more closely with students to ensure compliance. Budgeting will be done to benefit more students.

Under past administrations, trips to Magic Mountain were made at a cost of $14,000 and benefited only 100 to 200 students out of the 35,000 who paid student government fees.

Other trips, such as a senators' junket to Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1999, cost students $20,000.

"It sounds to me like we have given student government authority over their own budgets, but is there any item in there that establishes responsibility?" Regent Doug Seastrand asked.

Regents will consider further measures in their bylaws, including limiting the amount of money CCSN's student government receives, Jane Nichols, Nevada's higher education chancellor, said.

"There could be the possibility of bringing the fee down or even the others up to the level of spending that CCSN has," Nichols said.

That issue is expected be addressed during the regents' November meeting.

In the meantime, Hooks is trying to create a new reputation for CCSN, and he blames past problems on Moore's leadership.

"He had his day at CCSN, and we're dealing with the remnants of it," Hooks said. "We've got to clean it up now."

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