Clausen Incident Aids Reform- 2500 Others 'Grandfathered In' (Our Wallets)
by JIM BEAM - The American Press (excerpt)

Legislation that would end situations like the one that eventually cost the state’s commissioner of higher education her job is nearing final passage. Rep. Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, is lead sponsor of a bill that would tighten the rules by which educators can retire, be rehired and draw a pension check a year later along with their regular salary. Rep. Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, is one of 17 co-sponsors.

Sally Clausen, commissioner of higher education, announced Tuesday that she was resigning effective July 1. The announcement came less than a month after news reports revealed she had retired last August and been rehired a day later. Both were done reportedly without telling her bosses, the members of the state Board of Regents. Clausen has a $425,000 annual pay package and received $90,000 for unused sick leave and vacation time when she retired.

Speaker of the House Jim Tucker, R-Terrytown, said, “There were a number of (House) members who were very leery of giving additional responsibilities to the regents under the circumstances.” If the bill by Rep. Cortez gets through the Senate, a gravy train for many educators will come to a screeching halt. Only 3,000 retirees a year were rehired before the law was liberalized because it only applied to rehiring teachers in critical areas like math and science. Of the 7,500 persons now on the retire-rehire rolls, 5,000 have been reemployed as classroom teachers. The other 2,500 hold administrative or counselor positions.

The House approved the Cortez legislation 85-10 on April 26. It was on the Senate calendar Wednesday afternoon awaiting floor debate and final action. The state would save $324 million and local school boards would save $283 million over the next five years if the bill becomes law. Annual savings for the state after five years would be $108 million. Anyone who retired and was rehired prior to June 30, 2010, would be grandfathered in.

COMMENTARY: A savings of over a half a billion dollars in just 5 years, and 2,500 administrators and counselors are 'grandfathered' in? Anyone now wonder where all our hard-earned taxpayer money is going? How many other of these insider scams exist in the public payroll system? How many other ways are the taxpayers being screwed while the politicians are screaming for more of our money?