MILWAUKEE, WI (WTAQ) – The Oshkosh Northwestern is reporting that a judge ruled Wednesday that the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh has to cover the debts of the school’s private foundation, which equates to $15 million.
Judge Susan Kelley is ruling that two former UW-Oshkosh administrators crafted an enforceable contract that must be honored when they penned a letter promising to use university money to bail out the foundation.
State taxpayers were left responsible for building project loans after the UWO Foundation filed for bankruptcy in 2017.
Former Chancellor Richard Wells and former Vice Chancellor Thomas Sonnleitner face criminal charges of misconduct in office and they pleaded not guilty in June.
Allegedly they illegally promised banks that any debts the foundation couldn’t cover would be guaranteed by the university.
UW-Oshkosh didn’t have a comment when they were contacted by FOX 11 News.
