DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune Cookman University President Edison Jackson announced his early retirement to the school's board of directors on Tuesday, according to the granddaughter of the school's founder.
Dr. Evelyn Bethune told News 6 she's pleased with the announcement.
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"When is the moving truck coming?" she asked.
Bethune said she and other members of the school's alumni association have been pushing the board to take action after the university started losing money.
"Five years ago, this university had triple-A credit, almost no debt and a $50 million-plus endowment," she told News 6.
Now, she said, that's not the case.
She pointed to numbers exposed by the Daytona Beach News Journal. The newspaper cited tax documents that show the school operated at an $18 million loss last year and had to borrow $7 million from its endowment.
Despite that, the paper reported, Jackson's salary increased by $40,000 to $410,000 per year.
Jackson made mention of the school's financial shape in May when he made the controversial choice of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as the commencement speaker.
"We're always in the business of making new friends," he said during the ceremony. "If you don't have friends, it's very difficult to raise money."
Percy Williamson, a graduate of BCU's class of 1978, said Jackson's departure is a long time coming.
"There are some structural changes that need to be made in order for us to right-side this university (and) put some checks and balances in place to make sure something like this doesn't happen again," he said.
Williamson told News 6 the alumni association is demanding a forensic audit of the school's financials.
He said that way, everyone, including the new leader, will know what the school is working with.
Bethune said she's confident her grandmother's school will recover, and once again earn good financial grades.
"We will be OK because the alumni are organized, and we are vigilant, and we don't plan to just go away," she said.
