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Should having a state budget surplus excuse excess? Should success justify waste, especially when we are talking about tax dollars and student tuition? The answer to both question is, plainly, "No."
North Dakota State University leases a twin-engine plane. The cost of that plane when spread across its time spent in the air comes to $7,600 per hour. Meanwhile, NDSU was so hard up for cash last summer that it kicked up tuition for its students by 8.8 percent. Apparently, it's a matter of priorities, or lack of them.
Officials at NDSU need to get the message that they must treat the people's money with respect.
t's not a matter of whether the NDSU president flies to meetings, rather, how much it costs. The University of North Dakota president flies on business as well, but his costs are about $1,200 per hour, or about an eighth the expense.
What's going on is more of the kind of thing North Dakotans saw in the over-the-top building costs for the president's home at NDSU - costs that led to the departure of then NDSU President Joseph Chapman in October 2009.
NDSU leases a Beechcraft King Air B200 from the NDSU Development Foundation. The university pays $80,729 a quarter, and is scheduled to pay $3.23 million by May 2017.
The cost figures came to light when a legislative committee began reviewing plane use by state government. In addition to NDSU and UND, agencies that operate planes include the Department of Transportation, the Game and Fish Department and the Highway Patrol.
NDSU has had tremendous success of late — academically and on the football field. The university's research programs regularly are cited for doing cutting edge work. The Bison football team will play for a national title on Jan. 7. It's a shame university officials can't apply the same high standards to money management and taking care of the interests of those who pay the school's bills.
North Dakotans want colleges and universities that they can take pride in. They want institutions that their children can attend and where they can obtain a quality education. But nowhere in the North Dakota mindset is there a desire to waste fiscal resources. No way do North Dakotans support pretentious displays of wealth or power.
While North Dakotans want NDSU to be first class, the people of the state expect the university to fly coach.
Should having a state budget surplus excuse excess? Should success justify waste, especially when we are talking about tax dollars and student tuition? The answer to both question is, plainly, "No."
North Dakota State University leases a twin-engine plane. The cost of that plane when spread across its time spent in the air comes to $7,600 per hour. Meanwhile, NDSU was so hard up for cash last summer that it kicked up tuition for its students by 8.8 percent. Apparently, it's a matter of priorities, or lack of them.
Officials at NDSU need to get the message that they must treat the people's money with respect.
t's not a matter of whether the NDSU president flies to meetings, rather, how much it costs. The University of North Dakota president flies on business as well, but his costs are about $1,200 per hour, or about an eighth the expense.
What's going on is more of the kind of thing North Dakotans saw in the over-the-top building costs for the president's home at NDSU - costs that led to the departure of then NDSU President Joseph Chapman in October 2009.
NDSU leases a Beechcraft King Air B200 from the NDSU Development Foundation. The university pays $80,729 a quarter, and is scheduled to pay $3.23 million by May 2017.
The cost figures came to light when a legislative committee began reviewing plane use by state government. In addition to NDSU and UND, agencies that operate planes include the Department of Transportation, the Game and Fish Department and the Highway Patrol.
NDSU has had tremendous success of late — academically and on the football field. The university's research programs regularly are cited for doing cutting edge work. The Bison football team will play for a national title on Jan. 7. It's a shame university officials can't apply the same high standards to money management and taking care of the interests of those who pay the school's bills.
North Dakotans want colleges and universities that they can take pride in. They want institutions that their children can attend and where they can obtain a quality education. But nowhere in the North Dakota mindset is there a desire to waste fiscal resources. No way do North Dakotans support pretentious displays of wealth or power.
While North Dakotans want NDSU to be first class, the people of the state expect the university to fly coach.
