Schools Matter: Backroom Deals Before and After Spellings Appointment

Schools Matter: Backroom Deals Before and After Spellings Appointment:

Backroom Deals Before and After Spellings Appointment

Corruption seems to accompany Margaret Spellings wherever she shows up.   Within days of her appointment as President of the UNC System, a secret meeting was held to hand out 20 percent raises to 12 of the system's chancellors.  Were these the chancellors who supported her absurd appointment for a whopping $750,000 per year ($150,000 higher than her qualified predecessor)?

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Governors of North Carolina's public university system gave in Friday to legislative demands for details of a closed-door meeting that resulted in big pay raises for a dozen top campus executives, but not before debating whether their job was to insulate the institution from politicians. 

The University of North Carolina's Board of Governors voted to release details of the private meeting two weeks ago that approved pay raises of up to 20 percent for chancellors at 12 of the state's 17 campuses. The board acted after consultants told them the chancellors were underpaid. The raises were retroactive to July 1. 

The decision to turn over details of the private meeting, which some board members called contentious, was opposed by Raleigh lawyer Joe Knott. He said he and fellow board members should insulate the universities from politicians who might want to install supporters and donors in decision-making roles. Putting people in those positions that are not qualified could hurt the universities' excellent reputations. 

"I view this request as a continuation of unusual interruption in our business by the political arm of our state government," Knott said. 

Knott said a powerful politician demanded that their candidate become the next president of the 17-campus system. "A person with power" in the Legislature directed former university board Schools Matter: Backroom Deals Before and After Spellings Appointment: