The state Attorney General's Office has begun looking in to the nearly $16 million shortfall facing Georgia Perimeter College, while university system leaders continue to try to piece together what happened.
The state agency is "reviewing information to determine if fraudulent activities occurred" at Georgia Perimeter, said Amanda Reddick, a human resources director and compliance officer at the two-year college. Reddick said Tuesday she was told of the agency's involvement by officials with the University System of Georgia.
The system asked the department to "review the issues" at the college, spokesman John Millsaps said, declining to comment further.
Lauren Kane, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, said agency policy prevents her from confirming or denying the existence of an investigation.
Last week, Chancellor Hank Huckaby disclosed the shortfall, which represents about 8 percent of the college's total budget. The former president, Anthony Tricoli, stepped down and was re-assigned to a position in the central office.
University system officials are still reviewing the college's finances, but state audits and system analysis reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show the college has been overspending by millions of dollars for four years. During that time enrollment steadily increased by about 4,000 students to nearly 27,000 this fall.
The school depended on reserves to fill past financial holes, but those funds have dwindled and aren't enough to close the gap for the 2012 fiscal year, which ends June 30. The school's reserves were $9.2 million in 2008 but had dropped to $288,765 when the current fiscal year began.
The college has already suspended contracts, cut travel, delayed hiring and taken other steps to balance the budget.
Huckaby wrote a letter to the college community explaining financial problems will continue into next year and the consequences could include layoffs. He's offered few additional details and little has been said publicly about how this will impact students, faculty and staff.
Georgia Perimeter and university system staff are working on a plan to put the college on more stable financial footing.
The interim president, Rob Watts, started Monday and is scheduled to meet with faculty and staff Friday morning. He will speak about "the challenges ahead and the next steps going forward," according to a letter he sent.
Watts, the university system's former chief operating officer, is familiar with the college having served as the interim president before Tricoli was hired. Watts already brought in a new vice president for fiscal affairs and additional staffing changes are expected.
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