mold-symptom.com

DURHAM -- Gov. Mike Easley said Wednesday that he does not need legislative approval to pay for mold cleanup at NCCU and that he has $300 million at his fingertips, a portion of which he could use to fix the problem.

"I want to get the kids back in the dorm rooms; it's part of college life," Easley said.

But he also wants the full price for cleaning up the infestation of toxic black mold and the reasons it became a problem nailed down, he said, before committing a portion of the bond money that was approved last year for repairs and renovations at state buildings.

The governor, a former state attorney general, attended law school at the historically black university. His wife now works there.

Easley said his budget director would make a recommendation once he has a handle on the extent and cause of the mold problem, but because of the uncertainty, Easley said he did not feel comfortable estimating when the problem would be solved.

"I'm reluctant to give an answer, because I can't get a good one myself," he said. "Mold is a whole new issue. You can't sell a house [now] without a mold check."

Easley sent an envoy to N.C. Central University on Wednesday, and the reports that came back disappointed him, he said. The university system is moving too slowly with the money that is available, Easley said. And he doesn't want to see "sidewalks" and other improvements among the mold cleanup funding requests, he said.

"Let's just get the mold [first]," Easley said. "I'd like to see the university move a little faster ... just focus on mold."

The $300 million is bond money that was approved by lawmakers in the House and Senate last session for repairs and renovations, but they did not decide exactly how much the university and other agencies would receive. And because the money was included in a larger, "technical corrections" bill, which stalled at the last moment, lawmakers adjourned without addressing it. That means Easley has a free hand in deciding which repairs and renovations, if any, could receive immediate funding.

State Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham County Democrat who also is an NCCU graduate, said Easley wants to hold onto the money as long as possible in case the state budget falls short again and he has to raid the unspent money to balance it.

Under a long-held state formula, in good economic times, the UNC system receives 46 percent of available repair money for its buildings. But that normal flow of money has been shut off for three years because of state budget emergencies. The $300 million was intended to make up for lost time and lingering needs.

In two resolutions approved Friday, the UNC Board of Governors made two requests: that they receive 46 percent of the $300 million bond indebtedness fund for repairs to state-owned facilities, which would equal $138 million, and that they receive nearly $30 million to clean up the black mold at both NCCU and UNC Pembroke. NCCU would get most of the mold money, at $25.4 million, while UNC Pembroke would receive $3.5 million.

On Wednesday, NCCU trustees were pinning some of their hopes on state lawmakers appropriating funds or directing a portion of the available bond money for the mold cleanup. The Legislature will go into session this month, but only for the purpose of redistricting.

NCCU trustee and former N.C. Board of Transportation member Eric Michaux said fellow trustees, students and faculty need to lobby lawmakers about adding NCCU to the agenda for the special session.

"We need to be on that agenda," he said.

Eric Michaux's brother, Mickey Michaux, is a longtime state representative from Durham County.

"We are working on the governor, but we are also leaving all of our options open," Mickey Michaux said Wednesday. "I told the governor, I don't care where you get the money, take it from your salary. The money is needed immediately."

In a speech during the trustees' meeting Wednesday, Eric Michaux compared the possible reluctance among lawmakers to quickly pay for mold repairs to a famous psychology experiment that showed children most often chose white dolls over the darker ones. He called the tendency "dollism."

To overcome this tendency, Eric Michaux said, the trustees and others need to stress that the mold problem is equivalent to an out-of-control fire on campus.

"We have a mold growing on this campus ... It is an emergency. ... We have what is equivalent to a fire on this campus ... burning out the opportunity to really make this a flagship university," he said.

NCCU officials have said that they need the money now or the problem will worsen and the school's reputation will suffer.

But Eric Michaux said Wednesday that the Friday request by UNC system Board of Governors for a 46 percent share of the $300 million bond package was not a good public relations move.

"Some of that support [in the Legislature to battle mold] kind of changed and shifted when that $300 million request came out," he said. "People are making a choice of dolls."

However, UNC system officials argue that the request is not a new one.

"Because the General Assembly never took action on the final technical corrections bill, for reasons not at all connected to this, it never passed," said Joni Worthington, a spokeswoman for UNC's General Administration. "In keeping with the intent clearly expressed by the House and Senate, we are simply requesting that those funds flow and our respective share of that be made available."

Since the Legislature's regular session was adjourned, the state has experienced even sharper economic pains with the failure of Pillowtex and other companies announcing massive layoffs.

The Legislature always has had a segment that believes the university system is overfunded, pampered and elitist, said state Rep. Paul Luebke, a Durham County Democrat. And with rural areas hit hard by job losses, any new spending could be focused on job creation programs instead, he added.