UA division’s deficit apt topic for closed discussion, 3 trustees say

Thursday, December 20, 2012

A Nov. 2 executive session in which the chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville told University of Arkansas System trustees about action he planned to take against two employees regarding a $3.1 million budget deficit was an appropriate use of such closed discussions, trustees who were reached for comment said Wednesday.

The session took place inFayetteville during a regularly scheduled board meeting, roughly a week before it was announced that the vice chancellor for the Advancement Division and his budget officer had both been reassigned, and about a month before Chancellor G. David Gearhart issued an online announcement to the campus community.

E-mails obtained from the university show that administrators were concerned about the budget deficit becomingpublic knowledge.

Jane Rogers, vice chairman of the UA board of trustees, said that while personnel decisions are the responsibility of the chancellors of the system’s campuses, as opposed to the trustees, she believes that the board did the right thing by discussing the problems of the Fayetteville campus in private.

“I feel that anytime there’s anything like this, they need to keep the board informed, andsince it was a personnel issue, it had to be done in executive session,” she said Wednesday.

“Dave Gearhart gave us the information we needed to know and the background on how it happened and his plan,” Rogers said.

No trustees objected to any part of Gearhart’s plan, she said, which involved him reassigning Brad Choate, the Advancement Division vice chancellor and Joy Sharp, Choate’s budget officer, and not renewing theirappointments after June 30.

Choate’s duties were reduced to fundraising activities, but he will continue earning his $348,175 salary. Sharp was transferred to a nonbudgetary job in the university’s humanresources office and her salary was reduced from $91,086 to $68,314.

Rogers said the trustees gave Gearhart verbal support for his plan, “but it’s not anything we would vote on” andno vote was taken.

The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act says any action taken in an executive session isn’t legal unless the body reconvenes in public session and votes on the matter.

In June, about five months before Gearhart’s Dec. 3 announcement to the campus, Choate learned that his $10 million budget had been overspent by 30 percent.

The university’s financial employees began a review to see what had gone wrong, which took about four months and resulted in a series of budget transfers and loans from within the university to cover the deficit.

In the meantime, Gearhart has said, he held numerous meetings around campus with deans and others whose budgets were affected.

Gearhart did not return messages Wednesday seeking comment.

The Freedom of Information Act says that open meetings of public bodies can adjourn to executive session “only for the purpose of considering employment, appointment, promotion, demotion, disciplining, or resignation of any public officer or employee.”

“The specific purpose of the executive session shall be announced in public before going into executive session.”

Different public bodies interpret the language “specific purpose” in different ways.

Although school chancellors and presidents handle many personnel matters, most of the board’s regular meetings include an executive session that could cover personnel matters.

During its Nov. 2 meeting, board Chairman Mike Akin announced the purpose of the executive session by saying:

“I will entertain a motion to go into executive session for the purpose of considering appointments to the UAMS Medical and AHEC staffs, the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, the UA Foundation, the UACCM Board of Visitors and the employment or appointment of employees; the granting of emeritus status; and the approval of early retirement agreements and salaries in excess of the line item maximum for the various campuses of the University of Arkansas System,” according to the minutes of the meeting. UACCM is the UA Community College at Morrilton, and AHEC refers to UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers program.

Fred Harrison, general counsel for the UA System, said notification that the board planned to discuss the Advancement Division deficit did not need to be any more specific than the phrase that was used - “the employment or appointment of employees.”

John E. Tull III, a Little Rock lawyer who handles matters about the Freedom of Information Act and other legal issues concerning the media for the Arkansas Press Association, said he didn’t know enough facts about the case to comment specifically.

In general, he said, the answer can turn on facts that people who weren’t privy to the discussion can’t know.

“Where does the executive session stop and the discussion that should be carried into the public discussion begin?” Tull asked.

He said that could depend on the amount of information of public interest that the parties would need to discuss to understand the personnel issues. “It’s certainly a gray area,” he said.

Trustee Ben Hyneman of Jonesboro said Wednesday said the matter was put before the board in executive session “because it was personnel,” but said he couldn’t say much more.

“I’m just not comfortable talking about anything that went on in executive session,” Hyneman said.

Trustee David Pryor also was circumspect in his remarks.

“I hate to say this, but I just don’t have much to say about this,” said Pryor, the former U.S. senator and Arkansas governor. “I’m sorry it’s happened, and I just hope we can work through it.”

Asked why he didn’t want to say more, Pryor said: “We have a very good board, and we try to speak with a good deal of cohesiveness.”

The issue was taken to the board as a personnel matter, he said.

“I would just basically say it was for the chancellor to brief the members of the board and to talk about the history of the situation. And I would say that was it, pretty well it.”

Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/20/2012