John Rhodes: A Spellings lesson

In making UNC “productive” and “agile,” Margaret Spellings will find legal means to accomplish her goal, including but not limited to outsourcing jobs, which places many UNC staff in the less secure, more precarious private sector, whereby, in some cases, health care costs no longer covered by the state become, as a new cost, automatically more expensive for the former state employee.

But only part of the hypocritical beauty of the Spellings appointment (legal plunder, via executive compensation) comes with one party constantly blaming the other for wasteful spending, a matter that the public, reminded by Republicans, is always told makes things more costly for the taxpayer.

For when the time comes, and a Democrat becomes president of the university system, Democrats won’t utter a word about the outgoing official receiving a $50,000 or $75,000 raise – for doing such a fine job – on top of an outrageous base salary, now $775,000 or more, already in place for the next (political) candidate who meets partisan approval.

And UNC Board of Governors Chair John Fennebresque, according to the Oct. 24 news article “UNC’s next chief ready for challenge,” has tears in his eyes after hearing Margaret Spellings’ acceptance speech? Is it any wonder?

This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "John Rhodes: A Spellings lesson."