Education Department: Savannah State improperly spent federal money

SAVANNAH - Savannah State University used ``unallowable&#39;&#39; money to bring an African king to Georgia and fly nine students to China, the U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday. <br> <br> The department says the money was meant to be used to create educational opportunities for as many students as possible, but the school used it for a variety of other purposes. <br> <br> Savannah State paid a $21,657 reimbursement to the Education Department on July 12 and acknowledged some fault for misspending Title III funds, which have been given to the historically black colleges to make up for decades of inadequate and unfair state funding. <br> <br> University President Carlton Brown told The Associated Press today he believed there was educational value in bringing King Asante Hene to the school. Hene is the supreme chief and kind of the Ashanti Nation, the largest collective of tribes in Africa. <br> <br> About $20,000 was spent to fly Hene and his 16-person delegation to a campus symposium in 2001. The Education Department questioned what role a king plays in international education. The costs included a caravan of limousines, rooms at an inn and an honorarium for the king. <br> <br> The Education Department also cited a July 2000 trip to China that cost $15,912 for travel for nine students. The Education Department denied a request to fund the trip, but an auditor found the university used Title III money for it anyway. <br> <br> Savannah State&#39;s nine other Title III programs were found to be acceptable by the Education Department. Those programs spent money on computers and a marine science research center.