Posted on 09/18/2013 3:57:32 PM PDT by matt04
When former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano takes over as president of the University of California later this month, she will live in leased accommodations that the college system is renting for nearly $10,000 a month.
While the price tag is several thousand dollars less than what the university spent leasing her predecessor's home, some university officials say it might be more cost-effective in the long run to fix up a vacant mansion that housed previous university presidents.
A committee of the University of California's governing board agreed Tuesday to spend $620,000 toward the multi-million cost of renovating the historic Blake House, which is located not far from UC Berkeley and has been unoccupied since 2008. The full Board of Regents must review the request, which it is scheduled to do on Wednesday.
The money will be used to repair the roof and to study if the three-bedroom, seven-bath house and its 10 acres of gardens should again be used as the president's official residence, reconfigured for some other purpose or sold off.
Napolitano succeeds outgoing president Mark Yudof, who saw the system through one of the most difficult financial periods in its 145-year history, which led to sharp cutbacks in state support for public higher education. In the last five years nearly $1 billion was cut from the university's state funding.
'We should focus on what is the best use of this piece of property, is it sale, renovations, divisions, or rezoning it,' Regent Hadi Makarechian said.
'We shouldn't just spend money to fix the roof and then do nothing about it for another three or four years.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Anybody know whatever became of California's multibillion dollar debt?
Big Sis needs a big mansion.”
I know she’s full of it - but 7 bathrooms for one person?
Dixy Lee Ray lived in a house trailer when she was Governor of Washington State.
must eat a lot of taco bell.
Toooooooo funny!
True that!
Sounds like the plumbing will require an entire network of dikes.
I’ll take Rick Perry over Robert Gates!
Y’all are in fine form tonite!
Sending me to bed with a smile. Thanks.
Not me. Perry’s been appointng his little cronies. He wants the $10k tuition that is available to everyone. I think he wants that over academic excellence. I had higher grades than Perry with a more difficult degree, and that is not saying much.
I know so many really bright Agges! For example, Pat Wood was a civil engineewhen I was at A&Mr who became president of he student body at Harvard Law school. He was head of Texas’s Public Utility Commision and then head of the FERC. He’s also conservative.
Pat’s an example of who I wish they were lokiing at. Smart and connected, but is known for doing the right thing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.