DAYTON: Wright State University says it has no plans to repay the $220,000 in state money it received to upgrade security for the first presidential debate, which it pulled out of last month due to increasing security costs.
An Ohio Department of Higher Education spokesman told the Cincinnati Enquirer the Dayton university doesn’t have to return the money because it was allocated and spent during the previous fiscal year.
Lawmakers in December gave the university money to help with the costs.
But the university has said it couldn’t persuade donors to contribute enough money to cover the increasing costs and the school couldn’t cover them itself. Concerns about security have grown as the campaigns have stirred often-angry public sentiments,
The university spent the state money on cyber security software.
Hofstra University in New York will now host the Sept. 26 debate.
