Idaho legislators question plan to purchase U of Phoenix

Legislators in Idaho are questioning a plan by the University of Idaho to create a nonprofit organization to manage the assets of the University of Phoenix, KTVB7 News reported.

“We see that this transaction has potential, but we also see that it has risk. And as elected representatives, we on this committee specifically have the duty of fiscal oversight of the taxpayers’ money,” said Representative Wendy Horman.

Horman is one of the leaders on Idaho’s budgeting committee, which met Friday to ask questions of the University of Idaho and board leaders.

“We want to trust, but we must verify. And if we can’t verify, we can’t trust,” Horman said. “So, we want to ensure that this deal is constitutional, legal, financially sound and that Idaho taxpayers will not pay the price if the deal does go awry.”

A major concern is the nondisclosure agreements signed by those who were aware the deal was under consideration.

“I fully recognize that the way this transaction was conducted was not ideal and probably was not my preference. But as those of you who work in business know, sometimes we have to play the cards that were dealt and make compromises to reach agreements to get done,” said Scott Green, the university’s president. “This transaction came to us very recently. We quickly identified the transaction and we put together a team of the best and brightest experts out there.”