2 ex-workers to testify on deficit at UA

Choate, Sharp to talk Jan. 7 after 1st shot was cut short

Two University of Arkansas at Fayetteville employees who lost their jobs over a multimillion-dollar deficit in their department - Brad Choate and Joy Sharp - will get a chance to testify before the Arkansas Joint Performance Review Committee, state legislators announced Wednesday.



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Choate and Sharp were expected to testify at the Joint Auditing Committee last Friday, but the committee voted 21-13 to accept - without their testimony - an audit investigation into a $4.2 million deficit in the university’s fundraising arm. State Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, sent a letter earlier this week to the chairmen of the Joint Performance Review Committee asking for that committee to hold a hearing to allow the two to speak.

Co-Chairmen Rep. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, and Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock, confirmed Wednesday that a meeting will be held Jan. 7 at 1 p.m. They said Choate and Sharp had already accepted an invitation to speak. Choate, who now lives in Texas, confirmed via text message Wednesday that he would attend the meeting.

Additional invitations were sent to former UA-Fayetteville spokesman John Diamond, treasurer Jean Schook, Vice Chancellor of Finance Don Pederson and UA-Fayetteville Chancellor G. David Gearhart. A spokesman for the university said late Wednesday that the university has received the invitations, but those officials have not formally responded.

Gearhart was traveling for a fundraising campaign, and the spokesman had not spoken to the other two employees.

Lowery said Wednesday that he hopes the meeting will delve into some of the issues the financial audit did not thoroughly address.

“I see this committee’s mission as that of a fact-finding commission,” he said Wednesday. “If we peel back one layer and see another layer we need to pursue, then I think this issue would deserve more time, more meetings. I’m going to ask the chairmen to grant some license to me if I’m involved in a line of questions, because this may take a different type of questioning with a more prosecutorial bent.”

He said he hopes both Gearhart and Diamond attend the hearing because of a discrepancy in previous testimony before the Legislature. Diamond had alleged the university destroyed documents asked for in an Arkansas Democrat- Gazette Freedom of Information Act request, which Gearhart denied.

“I think when it’s something small, and there’s a discrepancy, maybe you don’t pursue it. But that is the kind of thing where it is our obligation to find out who is telling the truth,” said Lowery, who teaches communications at the University of Central Arkansas.

English and Rice both said Wednesday that their focus will be giving Choate and Sharp, along with other former and current university employees, a chance to speak.

“I think the main point for us is there were several people who felt there needed to be more sunshine, so our intent is to allow everyone to be heard,” English said.

The committee will hear testimony that some lawmakers thought the Joint Auditing Committee was going to hear last Friday and allow lawmakers to question the witnesses, said Rice.

He said the committee’s hearing will benefit both lawmakers and UA, saying not allowing Choate and other officials to testify Friday “was not a good reflection on either body.”

The Joint Auditing Committee accepted the audit report in a 21-13 roll call vote. Co-Chairman Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, said he would still like to let Choate and Sharp testify, if there were no objections.

Sen. Bill Sample, R-Hot Springs, objected, and Hammer adjourned the meeting.

Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest and co-chairman of the Joint Auditing Committee, said he was glad the former employees would get a chance to testify after not being heard last week. King also serves on the Joint Performance Review Committee.

“I’ve been on the record saying it was an injustice that they didn’t get a chance to talk. They came at their own expense,” he said. “I guess, I just want people to hear their side of the story. I’ve had discussions with Mr. Choate, being involved in this since early this year, and I’ve heard his side. I think there are more questions to be answered, and I think this will help raise some of the questions we need to ask.”

The university discovered the $4.2 million deficit in the Advancement Division coffers in July 2012. Schook wrote a report in October 2012, saying the department had overspent its funds and had not followed proper accounting practices.

The university released several working papers related to the legislative and internal audits Friday, detailing accusations from Sharp that she was scared to tell Choate there was no money to hire new staff for a fundraising campaign. According to those interviews, Denise Reynolds, who replaced Sharp as the budget director, said Sharp was, “overwhelmed, overworked and intimidated by Brad Choate.”

In his interviews with audit investigators, Choate said he was incredulous that Sharp felt she could not say no. He said the division continued to hire and approve other expenditures because he was told there was money in its budget.

Neither Sharp nor Choate have given public testimony about their firings or what led to the deficit.

The Legislative Audit found no criminal wrongdoing related to the deficit, noting that there was no missing money. The Washington County prosecuting attorney’s office last week also noted it found no evidence of criminal activity, theft or fraud.

The report from Prosecuting Attorney David Bercaw, released Friday, said that the office had found several examples of problems with UA budgetary processes and internal controls that left UA open to fraud and accounting mistakes.

Lowery said those are the kinds of issues he hopes the Jan. 7 meeting will address.

“I think we’ve dropped the ball somewhat in pursuing the evidence that’s out there,” he said. “We need to talk about the process, not just the numbers.” Information for this story was contributed by Michael R. Wickline of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/19/2013

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