The Ohio Controlling Board turned down a Miami University request for $166,648 to furnish office chairs for the Farmer School of Business (FSB) Monday afternoon in Columbus by a 6-1 vote.

The Controlling Board consists of a bipartisan state panel made up of three senators, three state representatives and one president of the board.

State Rep. Jay Hottinger (R-Newark), a Controlling Board member, said the board serves as the final arbiter and must sign off on various expenditures using taxpayer money.

State Sen. Mark Wagoner (R-Toledo), also a Controlling Board member, said Miami proposed three potential bids, or prices, for the office chairs at Monday's meeting. Wagoner said Miami's chair options included prices around $350, $440 and more than $500 per chair.

Miami chose the most expensive chair selection, according to Wagoner.

Bill Shawver, senior director of purchasing and central services at Miami, said the chair in question was the Herman Miller Aeron chair.

State Rep. Clayton Luckie (D-Dayton) was the one vote on the board in favor of providing Miami with the funding.

"$167,000 to furnish chairs in a new building is not a bad price," Luckie said. "I listened to the explanation from the architect and thought he did an excellent job."

Luckie said a state term contract or list of prices from vendors for office supplies is made available each year.

According to Dionn Tron, associate vice president for university communications, the Herman Miller Aeron chair was on that list, but at a price of $693. Wagoner said Miami waived the use of the state term contract to keep the original price of about $500 as Miami had requested.

Wagoner added if Miami had chosen to purchase the chairs at the state's more expensive list price, going through the state board would not have been required.

Both Tron and Luckie agreed Miami wanted to get the best price possible on the chairs, and said Miami wanted to negotiate with the board when APG Office Furnishings in Cincinnati offered a lower price.

Tron said the new FSB facilities, opening in fall 2009, receive 5 percent of its funding from the state, while the remainder comes from donations and alumni gifts.

She added when deciding the type of office chairs to be purchased, four criteria must be met-ergonomics, lifetime, price and appearance-in that order of importance.

"These are not chairs that you get at IKEA, where the cost looks cheaper going in, but in the long run you have to keep replacing it," Tron said. "The Aeron chair is widely used in universities. We looked for lowest cost and best value."

According to a list from APG Office Furnishings, about 50 Ohio colleges and universities have purchased the Herman Miller Aeron chair. These schools include Ohio State University, Ohio University, University of Dayton, John Carroll University, Capital University and University of Cincinnati.

Tron said Miami only purchases with the long term in mind. She said the Aeron chair is well known for its ergonomics and has a 15-year guarantee with an additional 12-year full replacement policy.

Robert Keller, Miami's university architect, said the Aeron chair was chosen because Miami has experience with the model and its strong warranty.

"These chairs are not for causal use in a lobby," Shawver said. "They are for people who sit at a desk all day long. We want to provide the employees with comfortable, supportive chairs to help ease back strain and other complications."

Shawver said for higher education, $500 office chairs are not that unusual.

Hottinger said Miami's request didn't come up on his radar as questionable until a Controlling Board member did the math and realized Miami had chosen the priciest of the proposed chairs.

Wagoner said when the board asked Miami's architect why the most expensive of the chairs was chosen, there was a lack of response.

Keller said he stood by the decision to ask for funding.

"Yes, there are cheaper chairs that we can buy, but we're getting the best buy for the dollar," Keller said. "We are evaluating what to do now."

Hottinger said Miami's justification for the expensive chairs was that the chairs would last longer, yet Hottinger said the prevailing opinion of the board was a need for fiscal responsibility.

"In tough times we need to be much more vigilant," Hottinger said.

Hottinger added there have only been a few rejections by the board in his three years on the Controlling Board. He added while the Aeron chair is not comparable to a $10,000 toilet seat, $167,000 is too much to outfit a building.

Wagoner said the 6-1 vote was resounding.

"During this difficult financial environment, we're trying to keep tuition down," Wagoner said. "The university should be saving every penny and being fiscally prudent."