NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — For months, Tennessee lawmakers have been debating if Tennessee State University should suffer consequences after a Tennessee Comptroller's audit found the Historical Black College University (HBCU) poorly handled a housing crisis on campus.
But it's still hard to say how the Legislature will decide to proceed. That's because the two chambers up on the hill are going in two very different directions.
The Tennessee Senate was set to vote Monday night on a version of the bill that would officially vacate TSU's Board of Trustees. That could have opened the door for a new board to fire TSU President, Dr. Glenda Glover. But ultimately, the Senate sponsor Sen. Jon Lundberg decided to pull the bill back to the calendar, giving them more time to make more changes.
Monday afternoon, the Tennessee House went in a different direction. The House Government Operations Committee amended the house's version of the bill to allow the TSU Trustees to get a two-year renewal. The typical extension is four years.
Then, you have Governor Bill Lee. NewsChannel 5 asked Tennessee's top executive about what he supports. "They have been given information via an independent audit that has presented them an opportunity to make the right decisions for that university going forward," Governor Lee said. "I trust they will make those right decisions. I believe that the board should maintain its autonomy and that they should independently be given the responsibility to make the changes necessary to serve the students of Tennessee State University in a better way. That’s what I think about that university."
All of this comes after another legislative committee recommended just a one-year extension for the board.
The legislature will have to come to some sort of conclusion before the end of the legislative session, which could end as early as the end of this week.
