Spending Doesn't Add Up At St. Mary's College

St. Mary's College of Maryland is reveling over the near-completion of the 7,000-square-foot, $6.7 million waterfront playground 50 feet off the river's edge. President Margaret O'Brien is gloating at her crushing of the opposition to the boathouse 25 feet from the waterfront. She is selling pieces of the old boathouse for $300 each -- seed money for the next project to benefit the rich, powerful and privileged. The college's board of trustees is likely to give her an increase from her current $400,000 base salary, plus her tens of thousands of dollars in perks.

One only has to drive through St. Mary's City to see the huge river park project built on fill dirt and wetlands (why else do you pour 20- to 30-foot concrete footers for the building?). Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) said last month, "We are going to stop encroachment on our precious shoreline." Oh yes, you refused a request to look into St. Mary's College building on the river's edge. and the governor now plans to spend $50 million to preserve the Chesapeake Bay shoreline. Rest assured, St. Mary's College, the St. Mary's River Watershed Association and biology professor Robert Paul (co-director of the St. Mary's River Project) have their eyes on some of these funds for more projects such as the $2 million bridge over Route 5 and a shoreline erosion project.

Boy, is that an oxymoron -- the college trying to preserve the river shoreline after it built almost on the river's edge. Many county residents who try to build a doghouse within 1,000 feet of the shoreline (18 percent of St. Mary's County land is involved) will go through hell in the approval process and probably be denied. A double standard?

Maryland now wants to add a state level of review to the policy. Too bad Maryland state property on the water is not subject to local review.

Much flap was generated over the college's original boathouse project and the loss of the scenic view of the river in our beautiful first capital of Maryland. However, the real point is how the college and its board of trustees were very stealthy in the approval process, with little or no input from the community nor consideration for the millions coming out of taxpayers' pockets.

The real crime is the autonomy the college has in its construction and spending. In the mid-1970s, Gov. Marvin Mandel (D) got approval for the college to bypass the Maryland Board of Regents. He told then-President Renwick Jackson to spend, increase staffing and do what was necessary to meet mid-Atlantic standards and gain accreditation. Little did anyone envision that 30-plus years later, the college is still not subject to oversight on spending from other state education bodies.

In President O'Brien's regime, the spending and construction have gone through the roof, with only a casual approval from the rich, powerful and politically connected board of trustees. No wonder St. Mary's College tuition is the highest of Maryland state schools. Would our taxpayers approve of satellite campuses in Italy, Africa, Oxford, Costa Rica and Chile? How many tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars are spent on trips under the guise of "overseas studies?" We used to call those "boondoggles" in the Navy.

Morgan State University was granted the same autonomy from Maryland in 2006, and already there is a scandal regarding $3 million in construction projects. The delegate who sponsored the Morgan State exemption is now siding with the chairman of the Maryland Appropriations Committee who warned "autonomy is granted and it can be taken away." The Feb. 28 Baltimore Sun provided a great overview of this potential major scandal. Interestingly enough, our own Del. John L. Bohanan Jr. (D-St. Mary's) is heading the committee investigating this possible criminal activity at Morgan State over construction projects. Maybe he should head an investigation into St. Mary's College spending and projects over the past 20 years. Where have the Washington reporters been? They were quick to spread the false arson threat on the boathouse. It is likely this will never happen with the retired editor of The Washington Post on the board of trustees.

There must have been a great pipeline to state legislative funding. O'Brien brags: "We have gotten over $100 million from the Maryland state legislature in the last 10 years." The pipeline must still be wide open, as a big sign on campus (with all the politicians' names affixed) says: "Coming Soon -- SMC Academic Building -- $25,399,100." Have you heard it is a bureaucrats' building with zero classrooms? O'Brien has carefully manipulated the trustees to include many key players. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) gets "earmarks" (a.k.a. pork funds) for the waterfront palace and other college projects. Did you know that Hoyer is a member of the board of trustees that decides how these funds are spent? Doesn't that certainly appear to be a direct conflict of interest?

Another trustee has been pushing for St. Mary's Yacht Club and pier extension for years. The board of trustees president has a relative on the rowing club, so how could he really be impartial when Citizens for Preservation of Historic St. Mary's City wanted the boathouse moved off the river's edge and out of the direct line of sight of the Tolerance Statue (built in 1934 by residents of Maryland). Somebody needs to ask why $100 million gets spent at a college with 1,900 students, while institutions with five to 10 times the number of students get fewer state and federal dollars.

The Maryland General Assembly needs to investigate how its $100 million was spent at SMC, and if all expenditures were necessary and legal. In this day of deficits and the slowing economy, it is high time to make people account for every tax dollar. Sen. Roy P. Dyson (D-St. Mary's) is the only official who has had the courage to try to stop grandiose college projects, block building on the river shoreline and demand prudent use of tax dollars. He has introduced a bill to strip the college of its autonomy and return it to oversight by the Maryland Board of Regents so that it has to account for taxpayers' dollars like other Maryland colleges and universities. Let's have a fair, detailed and independent (not campus-directed) review of the college's past funding and spending presented openly to the taxpayers of Maryland. It is the right thing to do.

Donald Beck