A NC University Owes Security Firm Almost $200K
RALEIGH, N.C. September 23, 2019
A North Carolina contract security firm has walked off the job after they say that St. Augustine’s University owes them almost $200,000.
Administrators at St. Augustine’s University say that figure is incorrect but agrees that they are behind in making payments.
However, school officials are promising students that there is no lapse in security after the outside firm abruptly left campus, pulling more than a dozen security officers off campus Thursday afternoon.
According to executives at Champions National Security, the company pulled its officers because of an outstanding debt worth more than $190,000.
The executives added that Champions had provided security services to St. Augustine’s since 2018 and covered a “wide range” of assignments on campus, including dorms and administrative offices.
“We have not at any point put our students at risk,” Kimberly Williams, Director of Communications at SAU, said to ABC11. “We do not owe them $190,000 and beyond that, we are not commenting on our payment terms as we wouldn’t with any other vendor.”
As for security plans, Williams explained that SAU has long been working on a transition from a third-party security service to an “in-house” service — the St. Augustine’s Police Department. She did not elaborate on the staffing or size of the on-campus police.
However, local news station ABC 11 has been reporting of other outstanding debt and financial obligations that the Historic Black College owes other vendors
The college, which dates to 1867, almost lost its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOS) and was on probation because of past financial issues but this year has touted a comeback and rising enrollment.
The owners of Champions National Security did not say if they will pursue legal actions against the school to recover the debt that is owed to them.
