Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have called for a Texas Ranger investigation into Texas Southern University after the State Auditor’s Office uncovered widespread financial mismanagement involving hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.
In a letter sent Monday to members of the Legislative Audit Committee, State Auditor Lisa Collier outlined a series of alarming findings from an ongoing audit of the historically black university in Houston. These include major weaknesses in asset management, contracting, and financial reporting that the auditor said were interrelated and contributed to “poor asset oversight, weakened procurement and contracting processes, and delayed reporting.”
According to the auditor’s interim report, TSU failed to conduct annual physical inventories and maintained an “incomplete, outdated, and inconsistently maintained” asset-tracking system.
Even more troubling were the university’s procurement records.
Auditors found 743 invoices worth $282.2 million linked to contracts listed as expired, and 8,144 invoices totaling $158 million dated before the corresponding requisition dates. Some contracts were never signed or lacked clear descriptions of the goods and services purchased.
The report states the university “did not follow its procurement procedures,” requiring approved requisitions before invoices were paid.
The audit also found TSU’s financial information was inaccurate and chronically late. Financial statements for fiscal years 2023 and 2024 were submitted 10 months and 4 months late, respectively, to the Texas Comptroller’s Office. Auditors said that TSU failed to consistently reconcile its internal accounts or comply with its own financial controls.
Patrick said he was briefed on the situation over the weekend and confirmed the auditor’s findings Monday morning.
“Thousands of unauthorized invoices totaling hundreds of millions of dollars have been identified,” Patrick wrote on X. “Based on today’s audit update, I am calling for a Texas Ranger investigation of TSU. Everyone involved must be held accountable, from school employees to contractors, going back as many years as there are questionable records and practices.”
Patrick also announced he will work with Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dustin Burrows to impose an immediate freeze on TSU’s current state appropriation until the investigation is complete.
“The losers are not only Texas taxpayers, but the students of TSU, having no idea that funding meant for their quality education was either fraudulently spent or thrown away by sloppy, unprofessional accounting processes,” he said.
The State Auditor’s Office plans to meet with university officials on Thursday, November 13, before drafting its final audit report.
Texas Southern University responded to the findings, stating that it has been cooperating fully with the State Auditor’s Office throughout the process and has already taken steps to address the deficiencies outlined in the interim report.
“Texas Southern University has cooperated with the state auditor in evaluating our processes. The University enacted corrective measures prior to the release of the interim report, including a new procurement system,” stated a university spokesperson. “We look forward to gaining clarity and continuing to work with the state auditor to ensure transparency for all taxpayers of Texas.”
On Monday evening, Gov. Abbott directed the Rangers to investigate, as well as the Comptroller.
“Waste, fraud, and abuse will not be tolerated. TSU’s Board of Regents and all university officials must fully cooperate with these investigations to ensure taxpayer dollars are not squandered,” said Abbott.
