Education Chief Ordered Car With $13,000 In Extras On State’s Dime
Jun 5th, 2008 | By admin | Category: EntertainmentKentucky Education Commissioner Jon Draud knew and approved the extra cost of his new state vehicle, even after a finance official offered him a chance to reconsider because of the state’s bleak budget, government e-mails show.
In a March 20 e-mail to Robin Kinney, the education department’s associate commissioner for operations, Mitchell wrote that “all other officials who are provided vehicles as a part of an employment contract are currently using a Chevrolet Impala,” with a base price of $15,600.
“I was aware they cost more money, I felt they were important for safety purposes and the fact that I am going to drive about 25,000 miles a year, representing the state of Kentucky,” he said. “I am not going to continue dialogue on this subject. I was aware of the cost and I approved it. It is what it is.”
Joe Brothers, chairman of the Kentucky Board of Education, said yesterday that he was not happy with the situation.
“This is not the time to be sending a signal to people that we have more money than we really have,” Brothers said. “We are not talking about big dollars in terms of the overall budget, but we are talking about how this appears, and it makes an awfully good person look bad.”
Tags: associate commissioner, brother, budget, chevrolet, chevrolet impala, dialogue, education commissioner, education department, employment contract, finance, kentucky board of education, mail, money, pose, safety purposes, state of kentucky