New Hanover County district attorney Ben David confirmed Tuesday that he has asked the state for a broader investigation of Cape Fear Community College, following a request from a member of the college’s board of trustees to do so.

David said he has asked the State Bureau of Investigation, which for the past several weeks has been involved in an audit of CFCC by the State Auditor’s office, to broaden that review to include claims of potential wrongdoing by Ted Spring, who resigned abruptly as CFCC president in January.

The allegation, David said, is that Spring asked an employee to write a report for him in exchange for being considered for a promotion. He would not say which board of trustees member contacted him about the issue.

The requested report, Spring's attorney Gary Shipman said, was related to an earlier report Spring commissioned from an outside consultant addressing CFCC’s continuing education programs and strategies.

The document, Charting the Right Course for Continuing Education, was completed in April by Virginia-based educational consultant William Loope, according to a copy of the report. The report cost $14,000, officials said.

While some trustees may have seen the consultant's report prior to a discussion of it at the board’s December meeting, trustee Woody White said Tuesday that he first saw the report this week.

“It has no value and is not consistent with how the North Carolina community colleges function,” White said about the report. “When Ted Spring was questioned about it at the [December] meeting, a higher level of scrutiny began to surface about the commissioning of the report and why it had not been given to the board.”

White acknowledged that a contract for a consultant’s report costing $14,000 would not necessarily have required trustees’ approval. Given other factors such as disagreement over enrollment numbers, however, he questions why the board was not informed.

“At a time when continuing education figures are under question and programs are being scrutinized, why was the board not informed of this study? Why was it not put out for bid?” he asked, adding that Spring was asked for the consultant’s invoice but he did not receive a copy.

Spring did not respond by press time Tuesday to an email message for comment, but Shipman called the allegation “preposterous.” He said the trustee should have relayed his or her concerns through the board chairman rather than contacting the district attorney.

“It's not the first time that one or more members of the board of trustees have tried to micromanage employment issues," he said. "The chairman of that board needs to rein in his board members. The integrity of the college is at stake. It could affect the accreditation standing of the college. This thing is bigger than Ted Spring.

“The board or college cannot do anything to stigmatize Ted Spring without affording him due process," Shipman continued. "Nobody has bothered to ask him about this most recent allegation.”

Shipman added that Spring welcomes the scrutiny and has never shied away from accountability.

"We hope board of trustees members expect to be held accountable as well," he said.

David said Tuesday that, when questions arise about an official’s actions, the situation merits “a deeper look,” while still presuming the official’s innocence.

“I have a job to do,” the district attorney said.

State officials might need to interview witnesses, probably through the State Auditor’s officials already reviewing the earlier audit, David said.

David said his office will not be directly involved. The case will be handled by the SBI’s Financial Crime Investigations Unit in Raleigh, which was established by the state’s district attorneys.

“It was set up specifically for things like this,” David said. “That is the group I have brought into this case to decide if any crimes have been committed.”