Weighty waste
It would be interesting to know more of the back story that led some Mississippi lawmakers to spend $300,000 a year for five years of the taxpayers’ money so that Weight Watchers could help the state’s more portly educators slim down.
The nearly $1.5 million expense is one of the earmarks that the Clarion Ledger has uncovered in its investigation into ways the Legislature has diverted education money for its pet projects or well-connected vendors, with little oversight from anyone.
For example, according to the Jackson newspaper’s research, New York-based Weight Watchers received $300,000 a year from 2011 to 2016 regardless of how many teachers or staff signed up for the state-subsidized 15-week course. The more that participation dwindled, the better the deal it became for Weight Watchers. Over the course of the five years, Weight Watchers received nearly $600,000 for doing nothing, including $200,000 in the final year of the program.
That’s bad enough, but it’s also questionable why anyone thought that helping educators lose weight was the state’s responsibility anyway.
Maybe the argument is that educators who are in better shape get sick less, miss less work and have fewer claims against the state’s health insurance. But is it really the Legislature’s business to try to entice healthier behavior by one segment of the state-funded workforce?
When there’s extra money to spend on educators, better to just put it in their salaries and let them decide if they want to spend it on improving themselves.
Tim Kalich
Editor and Publisher
Greenwood Commonwealth
