SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The University of California has announced it will no longer pay for the meals of its governing board after a newspaper reported lavish spending on dinners.

UC Board of Regents Chair Monica Lozano and UC President Janet Napolitano said in a statement that regents will “absorb their costs for board dinners” to avoid questions over how money is spent.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday that Napolitano’s office reimbursed regents for more than $225,000 in dinner parties since 2012, including $17,600 for a banquet held the night before the board voted to raise tuition.

The newspaper reports Monday the reversal was the idea of regent Richard Blum.

Dinner costs are paid out of a private endowment designated for university business costs not covered by state or tuition funds.

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