The second biggest expense for Hoosier tax payers is higher education. (First is K-12 education.) Do any of the Indiana taxpayer, never mind their representatives, know where this money goes? From all indications, e.g. graduation rates, tuition increases, growth of administration, low education quality, etc., it is NOT going to Hoosier students and their education. (Nor does it promote Hoosier economic development by all independent studies. Look at South Bend and Notre Dame.)
So where could it be going? Well the Indiana Commission of Higher Education, headed by Teresa Lubbers, has gotten the State legislature and Governor Mike Spence to accept a 1% growth across the board. Why? Actually nobody knows. It comes from the fact the 1 is higher than 0 and less than 2. Why across the board? It seems equitable, especially if we ignore historical funding.
But where does this money go? Really? We are talking about $20million on a budget of about $1.8Billion.
Here are some examples:
1. Purdue University spent $7.5 million of Federal funds to build a research park and a classroom in Merriville, Indiana 8-9 years ago. It was always known as a loosing proposition and it is now up for sale. No companies ever came and students never went there. In addition to the Federal funds, Purdue spent millions in trying to pretend it worked. By the way, this was done under Congressman Viclosky when he was listed as one of the ten most corrupt members of Congess and former Purdue Chancellor Howard Cohen.
2. Speaking of former Chancellor Howard Cohen, he is now teaching one semester, philosohy, a year for his old salary of $250,000 per year. This is out of your children's educational pot. One could hire 5 fulltime faculty for what he costs. Would anyone agree to this if it was their money?
3. Purdue University just spend $1million dollars to buy abandoned land on Indianapolis Boulervard in Hammond, Indiana. By the way, the real estate company was Latitude, which is owned by Aaron McDermott, the brother of Mayor Tom McDermott, Jr. the pupetteer of Cohen and now Chancellor Keon. The site was formerly owned by a Krazy Kaplan fireworks and cannot be used without a lot more money coming in (millions). Ironically, there is not a piece of land in Hammond that is worth $1million.
4. Purdue's new president, Mitch Daniels, argued correctly,that way too much of the State' and the students funds goes to administrators pockets, not to educate students. So what do you thing Purdue's Board of Trustees did during their first meeting with Mitch Daniels as head? You cannot make these things up. They created another Dean in West Lafayette and expanded the role of diversity and inclusion. Do not ever believe that any of your Hoosier money goes to education.
Where the funds really go is to make the administrators and their friends, colleagues, hangers-on, political hacks more money.
Why does not the State Legislature call for their own forensic accounting audit, by an independent firm, of where billions of their dolllars go?
