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Penn State says no tax money will be used to cover liability from Sandusky

Pennsylvania State University president Rodney Erickson said Monday that no taxpayer funds would be used to pay any cash settlements or jury awards related to the child sex-abuse scandal at the school.

Pennsylvania State University president Rodney Erickson said Monday that no taxpayer funds would be used to pay any cash settlements or jury awards related to the child sex-abuse scandal at the school.

"It is the expectation of the university administration that our liability insurance will cover any obligation arising from civil lawsuits," Erickson wrote in a letter to State Sen. Mike Stack (D., Phila.), which was obtained by The Inquirer.

Penn State faces the possibility of legal action by the alleged victims of Jerry Sandusky, the onetime football defensive coordinator who has been charged with sexually abusing eight boys.

Erickson's letter came in response to one Stack had sent to him last week. In it, Stack, minority chairman of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, expressed concern about the university's ability to handle the potential financial fallout of the Sandusky case.

The new president, who replaced the fired Graham Spanier last month, also indicated that he has scheduled a meeting with other state legislators to discuss the school's financial liability.

Penn State, officially classified as a state-related university, gets about $300 million in funding from Pennsylvania. The university's overall budget exceeds $4 billion.