In a state where teachers have to spend money from their own paychecks to purchase school supplies for their classrooms, it seems a bit disingenuous for our education chief to be driving around in a brand new $31,000 car paid for with tax payer dollars. 

The vehicle in question is a brand new Chrysler 300 and has a base price of $18,101, but Education Commissioner Jon Draud requested upgrades that drove the price up to just a few hundred bucks shy of $31,000. It seems he wanted a satellite GPS system to “help him from getting lost” because he drives so much and he needed a bigger car for “safety reasons.” I am surprised that the environmental lobby isn’t all up in arms about this terrible misuse of carbon. 

Allowing this expenditure for the education commissioner reminds me of a little known but widely used perk that the U.S. House of Representatives voted for themselves a few years ago. They hid this wasteful gem deep inside the GSA (general services administration) program. It allows any of our elected representatives to lease a car on the taxpayer’s dime. Here’s the kicker: there is no price limit and all expenses are paid. Tax, title, license and gas are all covered. To make matters worse, there’s another loophole in the program which allows the legislators to lease more than one car! (Former Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo has two.)

Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, himself no friend to the taxpayer, leases a Cadillac Deville for $777 per month.   When asked about the program, he told CBS news “my constituents appreciate it.” Just let that comment sink in for a second. 

Congressman Gregory Meeks leases a Lexus LS460 for $998 per month, and Representative Ed Towns leases a Lincoln for $715 per month. Of the many brands of vehicles we’re paying for our distinguished elected officials to cruise around in, it should come as no surprise that BMW, Lexus, and Infiniti are among the most popular. Many of these cars are leased for more than what average Americans are paying for their mortgage or rent. In all, we know of at least 136 Congressmen who are taking advantage of the program, 72 of which are Republicans and 64 are Democrats. So, at a time when we’re all paying $4 a gallon for gas, these idiot savants are cruising around town in style. 

Governor Steve Beshear and others are predicting dire financial times ahead for Kentucky. I think they are inflating the numbers a bit to fit their casino/cigarette tax agenda, but they and their Republican counterparts are correct about one issue. If we don’t get pension reform very soon, our state is careening toward a financial cliff with no breaks.  I see no innovation coming out of Frankfort to deal with these issues – instead, I just see the state’s Commissioner of Education crisscrossing the Commonwealth in a shiny new Chrysler equipped with a very expensive GPS system.

Commissioner Jon Draud rolling up in a brand new $31,000 luxury car is the last thing I want to see when schools across Kentucky are being asked to cut their budgets. As far as I am concerned, whoever is responsible for the purchase of this car and its $13,000 in expensive upgrades should know exactly where they can stick Mr. Draud’s GPS.  A little Kentucky common sense tells us that the Education Commissioner and other state officials like him should all be driving used Yugos. And we’ll throw in a compass and tell them to come back when they’ve found the solution to our education problem.

Leland Conway is Executive Editor of www.conservativeedge.com and host of “The Pulse of Lexington” on 630WLAP. You can reach him for comment at Leland@wlap.com.