DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Bethune-Cookman University Trustee Judge Belvin Perry is among the growing crowd of voices calling on the school’s Board of Trustees to step down.

Perry said Friday it is time for the entire board to be replaced. It comes a day before students start returning to campus and plan to hold a protest Saturday calling for the Board’s ouster.

The University has been in the midst of financial and academic crises since a failed development project.

The Board approved spend $60 million for new dorms and student union building. Records show the developer was paid nearly $80 million, yet the student union was never created, and $25 million remains unaccounted.

The project has sparked a series of lawsuits ranging from fraud to negligence, as well as multiple civil and criminal investigations, one of which Grimes and Perry said Friday includes an investigation underway by the FBI.

“Twenty-five million dollars does not just evaporate into thin air,” Perry said Friday. “It is interesting to note that anytime we tried to ask questions or deal with anything dealing with possible conflicts of interest or possible corruption, we are shut down.”

Perry accuses members of the Board, and Chairwoman Michelle Carter-Scott specifically, of trying to sidestep inquiries into finding out where the missing money went.

“When you want to stop an investigation, you want to hide something,” Perry said. “Is there anything to hide, I don’t know, but let the investigation go forward.”

Perry also accused Chairwoman Carter-Scott of “illegally” trying to stack the Board by having members appointed without knowledge of other sitting members.

“A chairperson of a committee is not allowed to become rogue,” Perry said.

The Board has become the focus of criticism after the ouster of former President Edison Jackson and other administrators for failing to provide oversight into the failed dorm project.

Perry said he believes the current search for a new President should be put on hold until a new Board is seated.

The current Board plans to select a new University President from a list of finalists by some time in February.

Spectrum News reached out to the office of the Board, seeking comment from Chairwoman Michelle Carter-Scott.

An office spokeswoman told Spectrum News that Chairwoman Carter-Scott was traveling and at this time had “no comment” as it relates to the allegations made against her.

“Over the past 18 months we have been uncovering different pieces of this whole process,” Hubert Grimes, Interim President of Bethune-Cookman University said Friday.

Grimes, who became Interim President in July 2017, said the University started looking into the discrepancies years ago when they tried unsuccessfully to negotiate project financing with developers.

 The project sparked financial and academic challenges. Downgrades in bond ratings and threats of accreditations being pulled.

Grimes said Friday the school has made dramatic improvements to get off of academic probation and increase financial security.

Six of the nine academic matters have been addressed, Grimes said, with a formal review and site survey to be done later this year in an effort for Bethune-Cookman to maintain its accreditation.

“There were challenges throughout the course of the history of our University, but I want to ask those of us as stakeholders in this community -- now is not the time to give up on this University,” Grimes said. “We’re going to be around, the University is going to be around, the University is going to continue moving forward. We’re going to make the changes we need to make in order to continue strengthening this University.”