TSU chief lobbies for emergency funding

Interim Texas Southern University president J. Timothy Boddie Jr. was in Austin yesterday asking lawmakers for emergency support to keep the university running — and it looks like that could take quite a bit of money, according to KTRK.

"We've got some serious challenges at TSU," said [State Rep. Borris] Miles. "They're facing an immediate need of 26, 27 million dollars. They're coming up to address those issues with legislators who know the governor and the lieutenant governor. Looks like we're going to be looking for some emergency fees to keep the university running."

Channel 13 reports that the Legislature will likely decide how much money to give TSU based on the current state of the university. And that might not work in TSU's favor: Back in August, state auditors found that the university had spent some of the principal from its endowments, which it's not supposed to do. There was also the story of the teacher who never got paid and, more recently, questions about scholarships in the tennis program — and, of course, the ongoing mess surrounding former President Priscilla Slade, who is awaiting trial on charges that she spent $2 million in university funds on fancy china, furniture, Christmas presents and gym memberships. The current state of the university? Eh.

State Sen. Florence Shapiro said it's too early to guess what might happen with TSU; one possibility she raised is putting the school in one of the state university systems, a proposal that's drawn a lot of criticism before. But no decision will be made until legislators take a good look at what's going on at TSU, she said: "I think it's very important that we evaluate all the issues that are taking place there before we pass judgment on any of it," Shapiro said.