'Double dipping' really does benefit state

In last Friday's Daily Campus, a story ran about the disagreements between President Michael Hogan and Gov. M. Jodi Rell concerning state retirees' "double-dipping" practices. Apparently state employees who have retired and collect a pension can be hired on a short-term contract, typically 120 days. This actually saves state agencies, such as UConn, a decent amount of money while hiring experienced employees. But Rell is not happy with all this double dipping, claiming it exploits the state's pension fund, which is paid for by tax dollars. While Rell is trying to save the state's economy, Hogan is trying to protect education and continue to give UConn students the best. Connecticut is just going to have to decide which one is more important.

Rell does not actually have any administrative control over UConn's decision in how it handles double dipping. She is only "encouraging" UConn officials to consider limiting retired employees to two 120-day contracts. But according to Hogan, this practice saves the university a lot of money every year - and any way to pinch pennies is welcome.

The most important factor in double dipping is that it allows students to have access to experienced professors and researchers for less money, rather than be saddled with an inexperienced professor or graduate student. Accounting Professor Richard Kochanek was used as an example in Friday's article. As a professor working after retirement, UConn pays him $80,000, in addition to his pension. However, if they were to hire a new professor, it would cost UConn $130,000 - for an inexperienced teacher - and Kochanek would still be getting his pension from the state either way. If Hogan were to give in to Rell's pressure to do away with this practice, it would be UConn students who lose out in the end.

As it is, too many classes are taught by graduate students with little to no experience. While it is very important for graduate students to receive the training they need to become professors themselves, that practice should not happen at the expense of the undergraduates' education. UConn should jump at any opportunity to hire an experienced professor for less than a new one, and the governor should be supportive.

Many Connecticut politicians have repeatedly promised student voters that they would protect higher education in the state. Voters do remember all those promises. So, as students, we should hope that the politicians stick to their pledges and support Hogan's decision.

The decisions that Hogan has already made concerning UConn's budget cuts have saved us millions of dollars. Everyone knows that they are going to lose out on something, but some corners are just too important to be cut. Education is one of the few things that has to make it through this economic crisis and any opportunity to help UConn continue to run as smoothly as possible should be considered. Class sizes are already much too large and class registration is a nightmare. There are not enough professors to support a student body of UConn's size, and if we stopped employing retired professors, it would just get worse. It is one thing to cut some student group's funding to lose out on some social event. It is another thing to put students' education at risk by cutting budgets.

Double dipping has been used for years before this economic crisis and it has already proved to be effective in saving money for UConn. But what Rell is concerned about is the state's budget in the short term, and placating unhappy taxpayers who complain of government waste. Yet if anything, taxpayers should be sympathetic to the needs of UConn, knowing how well this works and the benefits it provides for students and for the state.

Taxes are already sky-high, and they are not getting better any time soon. I would hope that at least taxpayers would feel like their money was going to a good cause, paying college professors - and consequently providing students for the education they will need to bring the country out of this crisis.