Ohio lawmakers want to give Central State University more than $29 million for renovations – but there’s a catch.
The university’s board of trustees must first give the Ohio Department of Administrative Services or another government entity oversight of its facilities before the state releases most of the money.
The funds – and that provision – come out of the state’s most recent capital budget proposal, which funds physical projects across the state. No other public college or university received a similar condition on the roughly $461 million earmarked in the $3.7 billion budget for campus construction projects.
Central State, located in Wilberforce near Dayton, is Ohio’s only public historically Black university. About 2,350 full-time students attended Central State last year, up 33% from the roughly 1,770 enrolled in 2005.
The campus has faced financial challenges for years, leading state leaders to put it under “fiscal watch” in 2024. It’s the third time the university has received that red flag in the past 20 years, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
This status triggers increased state oversight to get a campus on better financial footing. The state auditor’s office is helping with the university’s budgeting and reporting procedures, and the university must file quarterly progress reports with the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
The capital budget is moving quickly. It passed the Senate Wednesday and could head to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for his approval as soon as next week, before lawmakers begin their summer break.
What capital budget proposal may mean for Central State’s future
State Sen. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, said he thinks this oversight provision stems from lawmakers’ long-held concerns over Central State’s financial woes. His district represents the campus.
“Any time we’re appropriating money to Central State, there’s been a question of have they got things right and are they moving forward,” he said.
State higher education officials told Signal Statewide the university has already been working with the Department of Administrative Services – the agency specifically named in the budget proposal to potentially take over managing the campus’ facilities – for the past six months.
Koehler said partnering with the department could help Central State officials “make the hard decisions that maybe folks who have been associated with [the] university for a long time don’t want to make.”
That includes facing infrastructure issues. University President Morakinyo Kuti told trustees that campus buildings have not received the needed level of care and investment for many years and many reasons, minutes from a November 2025 meeting show.
University officials also previously told state leaders that some of their financial problems stem from not adequately maintaining the campus’ mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. The university nearly got its water supply shut off after receiving a $300,000 bill in December of 2025, according to the Dayton Daily News.
Still, despite the past, Koehler thinks Central State is on an upward trajectory. He visited the campus in April and said he was bolstered by President Kuti, who has been leading the university for nearly two years.
“Central State is trying very hard to make the right decisions to keep Ohio’s only public historically Black college open and operating,” said Koehler.
