NC ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE
PROBING ALLEGATIONS IN SUIT
AGAINST ST. AUG’S TRUSTEE BOARD
By Cash Michaels
One day after a judge dismissed the lawsuit against the St. Augustine’s University (SAU) Trustee Board which alleged board members were mismanaging school finances, the state Attorney General’s Office says it wants to look into those allegations to see if there were any violations of state law.
In a ruling issued on November 14th, Wake Superior Court Judge Becky Holt dismissed the lawsuit brought by the Save SAU Coalition against the small Episcopalian HBCU, seeking to replace the current trustee board because, she said, the group did not have standing.
Save SAU Coalition is comprised of students, alumni, parents and at least two former SAU Trustee Board members, but according to Holt, state law prevents the group from taking any legal action against the board because of the school’s nonprofit status.
The group’s lawsuit, filed last May 31st, alleged fiscal mismanagement and sought the board’s removal. It specifically targeted Board Chairman Brian Boulware, among others, charging that he pocketed the brokerage fee paid by the school on a $7 million loan, in addition allowing wire transfers involving hundreds of thousands of dollars without any paperwork, and through these actions, literally brought SAU to the brink of closure.
The SAU Board of Trustees issued a statement, saying that “…it appreciated the court’s decision to dismiss the baseless lawsuit filed by the Save SAU Coalition.”
"We respect and value the judicial process, and we are grateful that the court has recognized our commitment to operating within the bounds of the law and prioritizing the best interests of our institution and its stakeholders,” the SAU Trustee Board statement concluded.
Former SAU Trustee board member John Larkin told reporters after the ruling, “This was a situation where it was decided on a technicality on statutes and not necessarily on the merits.”
He vowed to keep trying to replace the board, based on the allegation of breach of fiduciary duty.
Apparently the state Attorney General’s Office believes the Save SAU Coalition allegations are worthy enough to investigate.
The day after Judge Holt’s ruling came down, a spokesperson for Atty. General Josh Stein said his office is “concerned,” and “…is looking into those allegations further.”
The SAU Trustee Board said it “welcomes” the state attorney general office probe.
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HOW TRUMP’S PROJECT 2025
NOW AFFECTS NORTH CAROLINA
By Cash Michaels
Contributing weiter
During the presidential election, we heard a lot about Project 2025, a so-called conservative policy blueprint for the administration of Republican former Pres. Donald Trump once he was reelected to the White House.
The over 900-page authoritarian plan became such a major headline during the campaign, that Trump had to distance himself from the negative press it was garnering in order to win the election, despite the fact that at least 140 people connected to Trump had a hand in devising it.
But soon after his victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump embraced Project 2025 as he began shaping the direction his administration would be going.
So what’s in Project 2025 specifically, and how does it directly affect North Carolina, and ultimately, African-Americans?
FEDERAL JOBS - Project 2025 calls for the dismantling of a number of federal agencies, in addition to the reclassification of thousands federal workers as political appointees so that they can be terminated by President Trump once he officially takes office. According to the Congressional Research Service, there are over 47,000 federal employees living and working in North Carolina, many of them Black.
EDUCATION - Project 2025 calls for the elimination of the U.S. Dept. of Education. Such a move would severely impact federal funding of public school funding in North Carolina, especially with the elimination Title I, the federal program that aids public school systems with large low-income student populations. In North Carolina, at least half of the state’s approximately 2,500 public schools would lose Title I funding, and with it, the supportive programs to help low-wealth students. Over 6400 teaching positions will be eliminated, impacting almost 99,000 students across the state.
HEALTH CARE - When implemented, Project 2025 would impose drastic changes to Medicaid that would severely impact the lives of at least 900,000 North Carolinians, like targeted time limits and lifetime caps on benefits received during a Medicaid enrollee’s lifetime. It could also increase the price of prescription drugs for senior citizens on Medicare. Many would be at risk of losing coverage because they are low income, and can’t afford comparable coverage.
The federal government would also be barred from negotiating lower drug prices.
CHILD CARE - Project 2025 eliminates access to no-cost child care for almost 20,000 low-income children, otherwise known as Head Start. This will particularly impact thousands of children living in rural and urban communities, where the high cost of daily child care is already out of reach.
STUDENT LOANS - Say goodbye to IDRs (income driven repayment) plans. Instead, Project 2025 will mandate a singular program that will increase payments for all student borrowers, including those under the SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) Plan, costing student borrowers anywhere from $2,700 to $4, 100 annually.
SOCIAL SECURITY - Under Project 2025, Social Security will be cut by raising the retirement age for 73 percent of North Carolinians from 67 to 69 years of age. That would cut benefits by $4,100, to just $8,900 after one year. A median-wage retiree would lose $46,000 to $100,000 over 10 years, according to two recent Republican Study Committee budget proposals.
TAXES - Look for the overall tax burden to shift from the wealthy to the middle class under Project 2025. A typical family of four in North Carolina would see a federal tax hike of $2, 713 a year. Meanwhile, wealthy North Carolinians with over $10 million in annual income would see, on average, an annual tax cut of $1.5 million
There are many other areas of American life that would drastically change under Project 2025, according to the plan. We also know that based on Trump’s proposed picks for Cabinet-level secretaries, he will have a strong group of loyalists to carry out his Project 2025 directives.
Readers are urged to pay close attention to what comes down from the incoming Trump Administration in the coming weeks and months before January 20, 2025, Inauguration Day.
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