Thursday, March 14, 2013
Today I released the following statement regarding the resignation of Commissioner Killins:
Senator Tarr’s Statement on the
Resignation of Early Education and Care Commissioner Sherri Killins
“While the Governor continues to tout his costly transportation and education initiatives to the citizens of the Commonwealth, Commissioner Dr. Sherri Killins was receiving a six-figure salary for a job that apparently didn’t require her full attention while the taxpayers continued to pay her full salary. Unfortunately, the administration believes it prudent to continue to pay Commissioner Killins for several more months as an outside consultant to “ease” the transition of leadership.
The economy is still in a fragile
state of uncertainty, and it is inappropriate to ask the taxpayers to pick up
the tab of this Commissioner’s salary when the Commonwealth is set to lose $6.3
million dedicated for Head Start from the Federal Government due to the blanket
cuts caused by sequestration earlier this month.
Government needs to strive to eliminate the loss of public dollars, and we can’t afford to pay more than full-time salaries for part-time employees. It is unacceptable to ask taxpayers to pay almost $2 billion more in raised revenue when the Commonwealth’s fiscal house is far from being in order.
I hope the Governor will at the
very least take a strong look at his hiring practices. The citizens of the Commonwealth deserve so
much more than a part-time education chief making more than three times the
median household income, a DTA Commissioner who failed to properly manage our
welfare system, and a road menace State Highway Safety Director.
So while the resignation of
Commissioner Dr. Killins comes as welcome news, the recent string of employment
failures of high ranking government officials is most disturbing. I hope the Governor recognizes these
failures, and takes action to prevent them in the future.”
