Drew
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CT News Junkie | OP-ED | UConn’s Alternate Universe
"The UConn establishment is largely exempt from the consequences of the “new economic reality” that has hit the other three branches of government with lay-off notices, budget cuts, and reduced hours this summer at state parks.
Even Connecticut’s much vaunted freedom-of-information laws don’t impact the state’s flagship university the way they do, say, the DMV or the Siting Council. Indeed, in some ways UConn more resembles one of those dreaded quasi-public agencies like the Connecticut Airport Authority or the now-defunct CRRA. In other words, plenty of taxpayer dollars going in without the kind of public accountability you’d expect from a traditional state agency.
Here are some nuggets unearthed by the office of state Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano: UConn receives more than $200 million annually in direct taxpayer support with no strings attached; UConn receives billions in taxpayer-financed bond money; UConn is exempt from the State Personnel Act and from general state procurement policies; in 2015 state aid was at an all-time high, while tuition was set to increase the following year by 6.5 percent — three times the rate of inflation.
Even in rescinding three of the four raises, Herbst would not say that she was wrong to bestow them, but instead apologized for the bad optics and sniffed that she did not “wish to place unnecessary strain” on the relationship between UConn and lawmakers in Hartford."
"The UConn establishment is largely exempt from the consequences of the “new economic reality” that has hit the other three branches of government with lay-off notices, budget cuts, and reduced hours this summer at state parks.
Even Connecticut’s much vaunted freedom-of-information laws don’t impact the state’s flagship university the way they do, say, the DMV or the Siting Council. Indeed, in some ways UConn more resembles one of those dreaded quasi-public agencies like the Connecticut Airport Authority or the now-defunct CRRA. In other words, plenty of taxpayer dollars going in without the kind of public accountability you’d expect from a traditional state agency.
Here are some nuggets unearthed by the office of state Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano: UConn receives more than $200 million annually in direct taxpayer support with no strings attached; UConn receives billions in taxpayer-financed bond money; UConn is exempt from the State Personnel Act and from general state procurement policies; in 2015 state aid was at an all-time high, while tuition was set to increase the following year by 6.5 percent — three times the rate of inflation.
Even in rescinding three of the four raises, Herbst would not say that she was wrong to bestow them, but instead apologized for the bad optics and sniffed that she did not “wish to place unnecessary strain” on the relationship between UConn and lawmakers in Hartford."