Virginia Tech has agreed to pay fines totaling $32,500 that were levied against it by the U.S. Department of Education. The fines stemmed from the 2007 mass shooting at the school where 33 people died and many more were wounded.
The school has paid $27,500 for failure to issue a timely warning. Another $5,000 was paid for the campus not correctly stating its timely warning policy.
The agreement ends seven years of appeals by the university.
“The university paid the fine in February to close this chapter on the tragedy of April 16, 2007,” Lawrence Hincker, Virginia Tech’s associate vice president for university relations said in a statement. “While we believe that the department’s actions against Virginia Tech are inconsistent with their earlier guidance and policy, further litigation was not prudent in light of the various costs – emotional impact on the community, time lost, as well as financial.”
S. Daniel Carter told Campus Safety magazine that, “VTV is pleased that this issue has been resolved and that we – and all members of the Virginia Tech community – can now continue-on together in our efforts to make colleges and universities safer.” Carter is the director of the 32 National Campus Safety Initiative, VTV Family Outreach Foundation, which is an organization representing the victims’ families of the 2007 mass shooting.
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