Tennessee State University officials are asking the state building board to shift $154 million to daily campus operations after the fund was initially approved for the construction project.

University interim president Dwayne Tucker on Wednesday called on the state building committee to TSU’s five-year “sustainability plan” to cut scholarships and cut employee costs up to $17 million He said he was there.

TSU wants to “reset the culture” and prove it is more “transparent,” Tucker told the committee.

After state officials allowed $43 million infusions into their operating budget last November, they performed payroll and supported the rest of the year, the university needs another cash injection to pass through May. He said he would not.

However, to continue to run TSU, university officials are seeking approval to use the remaining $154 million from the $250 million campus improvement grant.

Additionally, the university’s consultant said that after the Land Grant University Funding Research Committee determines that the state has reduced TSU to $544 million over a century, TSU can demand nearly $300 million in capital funding. I’ve said that.

“At some point, that has to be put into the budget,” Tucker said, but he didn’t seek approval Wednesday. He later added that the university “hopes to offer a complete enchilada” without achieving some performance goals.

Subsequent federal studies showed TSU had been reduced by $2.1 billion over nearly 30 years, but Tucker did not mention the illustration Wednesday.

To strengthen TSU’s financial situation, Tucker also said it plans to announce a $100 million fundraiser over the next two years.

The state building committee did not take action on Wednesday regarding the TSU’s request or its financial plan.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a member of the Architecture Committee, proposed that the university consider changing tuition fees to promote financial turnarounds.

Commission chair Lt. Col. Randy McNally said in a subsequent statement that the TSU Turnaround Plan was a good starting point but refused to commit to supporting fundraising requests.

“Some of the expectations that TSU owes by the nation must be on the right scale, but I think Congress has found a reliable partner in President Tucker. There are still hurdles to clear, and There’s a long way to go, but I’m even more optimistic that TSU’s better days will be ahead of it,” McNally said.

TSU was forced to make last-minute requests by the Building Committee three years ago to accommodate students from the hotel and nearby church. .

The university encountered financial difficulties after launching an active scholarship program in the heels of the community’s pandemic when many students historically wanted to attend Black universities. TSU spent $37 million from federal grants to pay for the scholarship when registrations jumped to 8,026 before registrations returned to 7,254 in fall 2022 in fall 2023.

Once federal funds ran out, the university had to find other sources, including $19.6 million in tornado insurance. The university was a hit with Dire Straits as the costs of serving more students who didn’t earn enough to balance the increased costs increased.

TSU is celebrating the scholarship for students who are enrolled at the university but are grooming scholarships over the next five years as part of their new operating plan.

Construction committee members were upset last fall last fall before Tucker signed two $800,000 consulting agreements with Glover.