As we debate Joe Biden’s student debt cancellation, Save Jerseyans, here’s a close-to-home example of the root problem:
News broke this week that Rutgers University football accrued a massive $450,000 DoorDash bill since May 2021, and it was fueled by taxpayer funds. Not $450 or $4,500. Nearly half of a million dollars.
State Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) of Monmouth County is demanding an official probe.
“It is absolutely mind-blowing that this was allowed to happen without the notice of someone overseeing the accumulating invoices,” said O’Scanlon. “The person responsible for that lack of oversight needs to be held accountable. Between financial scandals and completely ignoring the newest CDC guidance on outrageous masking mandates, vaccination, and testing policies—and virtually the rest of the science-following-world’s long overdue removal of those mandates—it paints a concerning picture to taxpayers. And to anyone who had faith in those running the institution.”
“Defending the high cost and purchases because it was for student welfare isn’t an acceptable defense. It’s a nonsensical attempt to justify this mess. Sorry, it doesn’t fly,” O’Scanlon continued. “The problem isn’t that the university provided the option to student athletes to meet their nutritional and welfare needs during the pandemic. The problem is that apparently no one was paying attention to the invoices and spending to catch blatant misuse—which is a larger recurring issue.”
Rutgers Athletics ran up a $73M deficit in 2021. Sadly but unsurprisingly given the financial situation with Rutgers sports, DoorDash-gate isn’t an isolated incident as O’Scanlon alluded.
“It was only a little over a month ago that we saw other articles exposing Rutgers athletics’ misuse of Rutgers credit cards. Almost $10M on insanely inappropriate lavish charges with—again—seemingly no oversight,” the Senator added. “Meanwhile Democrats saw fit to hand them $100M for an indoor practice facility this past June in a budget deal. This type of behavior is completely unacceptable and an investigation should be launched immediately. The residents of New Jersey deserve accountability, both from the people guilty of these decisions and actions, and from those covering for them. We must be better than this.”
