Two state senators ask for audit of USF Polytechnic

Two state senators are asking USF President Judy Genshaft to perform a detailed audit of USF Polytechnic after one of them received a letter claiming its chancellor was misspending money meant for students and academic programs.

The letter was unsigned, with the writers identifying themselves as students of Polytechnic, in Polk County.

One of the senators, Mike Fasano, a New Port Richey Republican, conceded it was risky to rely on anonymous information but said he felt compelled to act because of the seriousness of the accusations.

Also, one specific charge in the letter -- that Chancellor Marshall Goodman's son, Robert, works at Polytechnic's business incubator -- is true. He works as a university partnership liaison with USF Poly's Lakeland-based incubator, Blue Sky, and makes $50,000 a year.

Because of that, "there is some credibility to the letter," Fasano said.

Another son, Steven, also worked temporarily at Polytechnic, earning $3,000 for three months in 2009-10 to maintain a blog and social media profiles for Blue Sky.

"We need a complete audit showing how every tax dollar was spent," possibly going back to when Goodman began as the Polytechnic chancellor in 2006, Fasano said.

State Sen. Paula Dockery, a Lakeland Republican, also signed the letter to Genshaft. She's the one who received the letter containing the complaints about Goodman.

Attention is turning toward Goodman because he is one of the primary advocates for a plan to separate USF Polytechnic from Tampa-based University of South Florida and launch the school as an independent state university.

Questions about Goodman's actions were especially relevant because he could be the leader of the proposed new university, Dockery said.

Also pushing USF Poly's split from the main campus is state Sen. JD Alexander, a Lake Wales Republican and chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.

The influence of the Polk County lawmaker heightens the need for a close look at Polytechnic, said Fasano, also a member of the budget committee.

"A lot of people have been reluctant to say anything because the guy pushing this is the guy controlling the budget in the Florida Senate," he said.

But lawmakers are quietly asking questions about why a senator is pushing for a new university in a year when every agency is facing deep budget cuts.

Polytechnic's director of government relations, Maggie McKeel Mariucci, wrote in a Q&A for the community that transitioning to an independent university would require no extra money in the beginning.

But Fasano called that "laughable," saying that in the years to come a separate university would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mariucci is one of several Polytechnic officials, such as Goodman, who are working to build the case that Poly should break from USF, while still officially working under USF's umbrella.

Fasano called that "an incredible conflict," particularly because several members of USF's Board of Trustees made it clear while questioning Goodman at a recent meeting they disagreed with the proposed split.

Asked if it was appropriate for Genshaft to do the audit under these circumstances, Fasano said he had "great trust and confidence" in her.

Genshaft has been even-handed on the issue since it arose nearly three months ago, even though she "has been put in a very awkward position by a very powerful state senator," Fasano said.

As of this afternoon, USF had not responded to requests for a comment on Dockery and Fasano's audit request. USF Polytechnic also had not responded, and Alexander has not responded to requests to speak about the USF Poly split.

The state Board of Governors, which is scheduled to vote on the Polytechnic proposal next month, confirmed receipt of Dockery and Fasano's letter without further comment.