Saint Augustine’s University – a private HBCU in Raleigh, NC – was hit with more bad news this week.
The IRS filed a $7.9 million lien against Saint Augustine’s University for unpaid taxes dating back to the end of 2020, according to WRAL.com.
If that wasn’t enough, less than a week after it was revealed that the school would not be able to make its Feb. 9 payroll, some professors have started canceling classes.
“Since she doesn’t want to teach for free and is honestly wanting to get paid, she says she’s not going to grade any of our stuff (or) send us any more emails until further notice,” student Sienna Forrester said after her teacher emailed her and said there would be no classes.
If that wasn’t enough, garbage was reportedly overflowing on the campus as late as Thursday, according to ABC11.
Several of the university’s money issues are athletics-related.
FieldTurf USA filed a $598,000 lien against Saint Augustine’s University for failing to pay for a new artificial turf field in Dec. 2023. Former football head coach Howard Feggins is also suing the HBCU for Breach of contract, Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Faith & Fair Dealing, Fraudulent/Negligent Misrepresentation and Tortious Interference With Contractual Relations.
“I just hope and pray that everything gets fixed,” student Roderick Harris told WRAL. “I love school. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love school. I love this university. It’s a historically black college. We don’t have many of those in the United States, so I pray that everything gets fixed here. I’m trying to play football here. If I can’t get my classes, I can’t play football. You know, no academics, no sports.”