Another finance official out at College of New Rochelle

• Former VP of Finance left prior school under a financial probe, as well.
• KPMG has been identified as College of New Rochelle's auditor in financial documents
• Betty Roberts' total compensation package with benefits totaled slightly more than $211,000.
• The college's net assets whittled down from $32.5 million in 2009 to slightly more than $25 million in 2015.

Another high-ranking College of New Rochelle official is out, marking the latest casualty for a school that is in the throes of a financial crisis.

It is unclear if Betty Roberts, who became the college's vice president for finance and administration more than two years ago, was fired or resigned. A college spokesman said because it is a personnel matter, he could not discuss details at this time.

Roberts joined the school in August 2014 after leaving a similar position at a Mississippi college that was under a financial investigation by that school's board of trustees and the state auditor's office. Her departure from the College of New Rochelle comes after the resignation of former president Judith Huntington in October and the retirement of former Controller Keith Borge in May.

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The college's board of trustees announced Huntington's resignation alongside the revelation it was undertaking a probe into the school's finances. To date, the college said the probe has identified $31.2 million in "unmet financial obligations," including some $20 million in unpaid employee payroll taxes dating back to 2014.

Trustees said one focus of the probe is why school finance officials and an independent auditor didn't flag the financial crisis. Huntington, in her first statements since resigning, told The Journal News/lohud last week that she relied on accurate information from the controller, VP of finance and the outside auditor.

Her statement was the first time the VP position was mentioned in relation to the school's woes. Someone answering the phone at Roberts' office last week said she was not in at the moment and unsure if Roberts was employed at the time.

Unlike the vice president position, the controller was mentioned by both the board of trustees in an FAQ on the college website and by Huntington. The former president said it was the controller's responsibility to pay payroll taxes and both Huntington and the FAQ said that the financial obligations were identified only once Borge had retired.

The outside auditor, KPMG, has not been identified by name by the college, but audited financial statements filed with the state Education Department named that firm, which also previously employed Huntington as a senior audit manager.

A spokesman for KPMG didn’t respond to an interview request. Borge has not returned calls for comment. Roberts couldn't immediately be reached.

Previous investigation

Roberts started at the College of New Rochelle about eight months after resigning in December 2013 from her position as vice president for university operations at Alcorn State University.

Roberts was one of three Alcorn State officials, including the school’s former president M. Christopher Brown III, who stepped down as multiple investigations into the university’s financial practices were ongoing, according to an Associated Press story.

Construction projects related to renovations of the president’s campus house did not seek bids, which is required under Mississippi law, and an auditor said the school spent more than $67,000 in bonds on projects not allowed in the agreement, according to the AP report. The story said Roberts oversaw purchasing.

The Journal News/lohud has requested the conclusions from the financial investigations from the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor.

A College of New Rochelle spokesman had no comment on Roberts' employment history.

Roberts earned a base salary of $198,462 from New Rochelle in 2014, according to IRS 990 forms, which the college was required to file as a nonprofit. In the 2014 filing, the last available, Roberts' total compensation package with benefits totaled slightly more than $211,000.

A common thread

Huntington, Borge and Roberts share a common denominator: All three occupied the position of vice president for finance at different times in the last 15 years.

Before Huntington became president, she was the school’s vice president for finance from 2001 to 2010, a position she took after serving for eight years as one of the school’s outside auditors with KPMG. Borge, who became the school’s controller in 1983, became vice president for finance in 2010 but was listed as controller again in August 2014 when Roberts came on board.

Each had a part in the college's financial management as it contended with declining enrollment, whittling away of net assets and difficulties paying bills.

The college's net assets whittled down from $32.5 million in 2009 to slightly more than $25 million in 2015, according to its financial statements filed with the Education Department and obtained through a freedom of information request.

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In the time period between 2009 and 2015, the statements showed decreasing long-term debt and annual total liabilities steady at roughly $80 million to $82 million per year. The college had seen a 21 percent decline in enrollment between 2008 and 2012, and a 5.5 percent decline between fall 2011 and fall 2012, a 2013 Moody's Investors Service report said.

A review of public records dating back to 2011 showed the college has had recent fiscal difficulties, including a federal tax lien, two state tax warrants and four notices from the state Commissioner of Taxation and Finance for moneys owed under the unemploment insurance law. Although those difficulties were settled, lawsuits showed independent contractors are seeking at least $1 million from the college for unpaid services.

When the previously undetected debts were found, the college took actions including laying off or reducing to part-time 36 non-faculty staff and announcing it would auction off five single-family homes to raise at least $1.5 million. An alumni association is in the midst of a drive looking to raise at least $7 million.

If enough money isn't raised for the college, which has roughly 1,300 employees and 3,700 students, administrators said it would consider two plans that include the possibility of partnering with another higher education institution or closing down. Interim President Dorothy Escribano previously called closing down "the least likely" option.

In the future, the college may consider declaring “financial exigency,” which could include faculty cutbacks. On its website, the school said, “We will ensure that each academic program has sufficient full-time faculty in place and that we do not have an overdependence on adjuncts.”

Twitter: @colleenallreds; @marklungariello