SC

USC Holding $350 Million In Reserve

The University of South Carolina – which is begging state lawmakers for another $190 million in funding this year – has nearly $350 million sitting in reserve. Cue the wrath of thousands of parents paying massive tuition hikes in 3, 2, 1 … According to budget documents reviewed by reporter…

The University of South Carolina – which is begging state lawmakers for another $190 million in funding this year – has nearly $350 million sitting in reserve.

Cue the wrath of thousands of parents paying massive tuition hikes in 3, 2, 1 …

According to budget documents reviewed by reporter Rick Brundrett of The Nerve, the Palmetto State’s flagship institution had $347.8 million in “unrestricted net assets” at its disposal at the end of the recently concluded fiscal year.

That’s roughly 25 percent of its $1.2 billion budget for FY 2013-14 (that’s right … USC costs $1.2 billion a year to run).

“USC in recent years has been sitting on a mountain of money, raising questions about whether the university needs any additional taxpayer support,” Brundrett notes.

Critics contend USC is wise in squirreling away “surplus” funding for a rainy day, but that’s just the thing with government: It never rains.

“The university carried over $257.3 million, $262.4 million and $248.85 million in ‘other’ funds into fiscal 2011, 2012 and 2013,” Brundrett reported.

“Other” funds refer to a roughly $8 billion pot of annually appropriated state money which receives very little scrutiny from the public (unlike general funds and federal funds – the two other main sources of state revenue). More than seventy percent of USC’s funding comes from this category.

Sheesh …

No wonder USC’s leaders are able to piss away so much cash on failed speculative real estate deals!

Oh, and nice fat raises for themselves …

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19 comments

Norma Scok November 15, 2013 at 4:03 pm

And you blasted Clemson for having $80 million in reserve.

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anonymous November 15, 2013 at 5:24 pm

ALAN WILSON’S CAMPAIGN FINANCES MELTDOWN –
CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN ATTORNEY THAD WESTBROOK OF THE LAW FIRM OF NELSON MULLINS CAN’T KEEP HIS STORIES STRAIGHT

Alan Wilson’s campaign left $134,000 off previous filings.

COLUMBIA, S.C. South Carolina’s top prosecutor amended his campaign filings Friday to account for $134,000 in donations and expenses previously unreported on disclosures surrounding his 2010 election win.

Attorney General Alan Wilson’s campaign chairman Thad Westbrook says NOW 68 donations and 16 payments NOT REPORTED

The 59 checks and nine online donations that came in after Wilson won the office totaled $66,890, The payments totaled $66,797

Thad Westbrook initially estimated that 10 to 15 donations were mistakenly unreported. That number represented other sponsors for Alan Wilson’s inaugural gala that were unaccounted for in his online filings.

But an independent accountant Alan Wilson’s campaign hired to review his account found many more deposits, checks, and expenses not reported.

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Norma Scok November 15, 2013 at 5:59 pm

WTH does this have to do with the price of weed in Kenny Miles trunk?

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The Colonel November 16, 2013 at 2:14 am

Clempson – 1 campus
USC – 8 campuses

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Ralph Hightower November 16, 2013 at 12:34 pm Reply
The Colonel November 16, 2013 at 12:50 pm

And they share the Baruch Barony with Carolina. Those are fairly minor expenses when compared to a campus infrastructure.

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VoiceofReason November 16, 2013 at 2:39 pm

Clemson no. 21, where is SC jr.?

Jealous are we?

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BrigidBernadette November 15, 2013 at 5:13 pm

Yeah, you’ve been letting them slide lately, what have they been up to, wasn’t there a settlement over the bio-fuel plant down in the flood plain, near Engineering Bldg. There were also big curriculum changes, very agenda driven. And yet the building continues unabated, all of Assembly is being redone, finally. That was all supposed to be the hydrogen fuel cell economy that Coble promised, seems so long ago. While other parts of campus crumble, are substandard. Like parking a cadillac in front of a trailer.

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Norma Scok November 15, 2013 at 5:58 pm

“Like parking a cadillac in front of a trailer”

heh..how appropriate for Columbia.

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Central Planning Fails November 15, 2013 at 10:22 pm

Those hydrogen filling stations are ghost towns.

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BrigidBernadette November 16, 2013 at 11:05 am

The city spent money to install electric charging stations in parking lots, like two spaces per floor of the garage downtown, they go unused. How much did that cost?

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Jackie Chiles November 15, 2013 at 5:16 pm

Is it normal for a business to hold this much in reserve? If so, I don’t really have a problem with it.

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The Colonel November 16, 2013 at 2:13 am

Will – how much money do you have in your savings account? No really, I want to start a web site in your vein and the first headline is going to be:

WILL FOLKS HAS $93.71 IN RESERVES!

Why do you struggle with the idea that the SC School systems must have a reserve (by law in many cases) and in the case of USC that reserve and budget covers all eight campuses.

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Say What? November 16, 2013 at 2:32 pm

For the grossly stupid: I have called BS on Will and others for years claiming that”net assets” are reserves waiting to be spent. They are not damn reserves! Net assets are the result of subtracting total liabilities from total assets. For the totally dumb, it is very possible to have net assets of a billion dollars and have no cash.

USC has cash on June 30 of 361 million and current liabilities (bills that have to be paid) of 117 million. That leaves 244 million. USC has operating expenses of about 85 million a month. As a practicing CPA for forty years I can tell you that the rule of thumb is to have about three months cash on hand. That puts USC about where they need to be.

Those with no financial experience should not make claims that they can’t back up.

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inciteful November 16, 2013 at 3:49 pm

Nicely said and very true. Thanks for turning intended sensationalism into what is just good management practice. Harris Pastedies is doing a great job. We are lucky to have him.

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Gamecock November 16, 2013 at 9:33 pm

Except that USC has money in a variety of charities, non-profits, subsidiaries, foundations and the like.
Will may not have the nomenclature correct but the principle is on target. And the real numbers are far, far greater than Will portrays.

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Say What! November 17, 2013 at 5:01 pm

Gamecock: if it isn’t on USC’s balance sheet, it is generally restricted as to what it can be used for. While it will be used to benefit USC, by law, it cannot be used for daily operating expenses. Most of the time it is donor directed. The bottom line is what I said above.

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VoiceofReason November 16, 2013 at 2:47 pm

Dollar for dollar this state gets much much much more value from CU but it’s too stupid to realize it. Wake up SC and realize what a gem we have in CU!

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Spes November 18, 2013 at 9:45 pm

This is what happens when unsuccessful businessmen preaches that government should be run like a business. See Lee Bright’s entire career. Not to take anything away from Will “Sancho Panza” Folks, he’s running a real top-notch operation over here pushing web traffic. Shit, the guy’s practically William Randolph Hearst. Capitalization be damned!

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