Idaho State president says forensic lab funds will be returned; audit underway, university pledges tighter accountability

Idaho State University President Rob Wagner told members of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Jan. 29 that the university will return remaining appropriated funds for an Eastern Idaho forensic pathology center and that an audit is in process after the university transferred the balance of the appropriation to a county following a memorandum of understanding.

The committee’s budget analyst, Kevin Campbell of the Legislative Services Office, opened the ISU presentation with an overview of the school’s budget and noted a technical reporting error in the tuition and fees beginning balances. "Happily, ISU has not overdrawn its bank account," Campbell said. He said the error affects only how the beginning fund balance appears in the slides and that staff are tracking down the discrepancy.

Why it matters: The forensic lab funds had drawn media attention and prompted the committee to request facts and a formal audit. Wagner, who marked his first-year anniversary as ISU president during the committee meeting, acknowledged institutional shortcomings in tracking and documenting the handling of…