Speaking of government waste . . .

We’ve been hearing a lot about wasteful public spending, so this story seems relevant:

Benjamin E. Sasse, former president of the University of Florida, spent unjustified amounts of money on university salaries, events, and contracts, with little to show for the expenses, according to a report the state’s auditor general released Tuesday.

The university failed to show how any of the expenses detailed in the report benefited the university . . .

Sasse’s office spent $14.8 million during the year he was in office, about 72 percent more than his predecessor did the year before.

Among the top payments was a $6.4-million contract with McKinsey & Company, a consulting firm meant to help the university chart a path forward. Neither university records nor employees could show the contract’s benefits to the auditor general’s office, according to the report. . . .

During his short 17-month tenure, Sasse hired 24 employees who held 38 different administrative positions. Several of those employees worked remotely, incurring large reimbursements for travel to the university.

Fourteen of those positions didn’t include job descriptions . . .

One of Sasse’s remote hires was Penny Schwinn, the university’s first vice president for PK-12 and pre-bachelor’s programs, who served less than a year in her position. She earned a salary of $367,500 and incurred about $17,500 in expenses that were paid for by the university, primarily for work travel, according to records The Chronicle obtained via an open-records request.

And here’s the kicker:

Schwinn has since been nominated by President Trump to serve as deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Education.

There’s more:

The report says the university didn’t “document the reasonableness” of maintaining Sasse’s more than $1-million salary after he stepped down from the presidency in July 2024. He now serves as a part-time professor and an adviser to the university’s trustees. . . . Sasse’s responsibilities in his adviser position “appear to be significantly less in scope” than those of the president, according to the auditor’s report, and “the public purpose of such a salary is not readily apparent.”

And this sleazy bit:

The university . . . noted that about 80 percent of the salary comes from non-state funds, in accordance with state law that caps presidential salaries.

Hey, assholes: Money is fungible. That’s a million bucks that otherwise could’ve gone for university operations.

More fun:

Sasse also spent about $376,000 on flights chartered through the University Athletic Association. The average trip cost $16,820 . . . Other expenses include an hour-long holiday party featuring hot chocolate, cider, peppermint chocolates, and cookies that cost $62,650; a two-hour holiday party for university employees that cost $169,755; and an invitation-only football tailgate that cost about $46,000.

Jeez . . . for $62,650 you think they could’ve afforded some booze . . .

The news article points to Sasse’s post here in defense of . . . actually I’m not sure what he’s defending. As befits his position of retired politician, he spews a lot of platitudes: “fiscal stewardship . . . hardworking taxpayers . . . the salt-of-the-earth people . . . the AI revolution . . . status-quo bureaucracies . . . lifelong learning . . . the first time in human histories . . . an unprecedented consortium . . . brought to fruition . . . disruptive . . . top talent . . .” He calls people “folks.”

The funniest part is when he writes, “Any $9 billion enterprise should always be finding ways to tighten its belt.”

In all those 1700 words, he never said anything about the million dollars he’s getting for his current mini-job, the $6.4 million to the consulting firm that yielded no benefits, the $62,650 party, the $376,000 in flights, or the 72% increase in spending. If that’s belt-tightening, I’d hate to see what happens when the guy goes wild and lets loose!

On the plus side, the University of Florida is now looking for a new president. I heard this guy is available?