News 12 at 6, August 27, 2008

AUGUSTA--A local college is out of money, and its teachers haven't been paid in weeks. Students there are beginning to worry about their education.

The president of Savannah River College says the school simply hasn't gotten the federal dollars it counts on to cover expenses.

That money is supposed to come from the Federal Department of Education. 12 On Your Side just learned the Department of Education is conducting an open program review of Savannah River College.

That means the school could have bigger problems than wondering when the money is coming in.

Savannah river college is a small school with only 200 students on Center West Parkway in Augusta.

It's also a small school that's out of money right now.

We surprised some students with the news.

Reporter: "Did you know this school is out of money?"
Student: "I didn't know that."

Others had already caught wind of it.

"I kinda got word of it." one told us.

"I heard rumors." another said.

But all of them had a similar reaction.

"I'm worried about my education. My kids. I'm doing this for my kids so they can have a bettter life. I don't know what i'd do if i couldn't come here." student Shondell Hysell said.

12 On Your Side was anonymously emailed memos labeled confidential from the President of Savannah River College.

Both of them say a lot, but the gist is teachers haven't gotten paid in weeks and it's not clear when they will get paid again.

But, when we approached one teacher, he didn't seem to recognize this memo at all.

"Do this look familiar to you?" I asked the teacher.
"I have to go check my mailbox." the teacher, Mr. Eghbeli said.

The memos say some expected federal funds have not arrived. The school had been getting by on loans, but now, to quote the memo, the well is dry.

We took our copy of the memo straight to President Darryl Kerr to ask him what happened. He says it isn't as bad as it seems.

"We're just waiting on federal funds. Most of our revenue comes from federal student aid programs. There's been a delay. It's a temporary thing. We are hoping (to have it resolved) in a week to 10 days." he told us.

But why did it happen in the first place? The memos say words like "lack of organization" and "rejected requests" for funds.

But Darryl Kerr wouldn't offer much of an explanation.
Only saying "it's due to various factors internal."

Savannah River College, previously known as Kerr Business College, has been around for 25 years. Last year alone, it had a 95% job placement rate.

Again, a spokesperson for the US Department of Education says Savannah River College is under an open program review. No other comments were available other than that.