House and Senate Republicans align to vacate Tennessee State University board

After weeks of legislative wrangling, Republican lawmakers in the House adopted the Senate version of a bill to remove all board members of Tennessee State University.

Under the legislation Gov. Bill Lee signed within hours passage, TSU’s current board was immediately to be vacated and replaced by a new board appointed by the governor.

Lawmakers look for compromise on vacating Tennessee State University’s board

Last year, Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower recommended that lawmakers vacate the historically Black university’s board after investigating claims that the school admitted more students than it could handle.

Several students and parents filed complaints with the state over the missing scholarship money and off-campus living arrangements, which included renting a hotel for the students. But, the University of Tennessee has also had to use hotel rooms to house students.

Initially, the House version of the vacate legislation only removed half of TSU’s board members. But, Senate leaders have been playing hardball, threatening to let the whole board expire without new appointments this summer if the House didn’t adopt their version.

Overshadowing the TSU debate has been the state’s decades-long underfunding of the college. A federal study found the university was shorted $2.1 billion, while a state study estimated the loss at between $150 and $540 million.

Lawmakers gave TSU $250 million in 2022, but the money can’t be used for campus housing.