Can you be fired for not spending your employer's money?
Only if you work for the government. Specifically, the Department of Education.
While ED [Education Department] officials said they understood the reason many districts were investing in equipment and technology, they expressed little tolerance for those who had yet to make significant use of their ARRA funds. When a caller asked, "What happens to unspent ARRA money after 2011," Policelli [Maura Policelli, ED's senior advisor for external affairs] shot back: "You will be fired."That's right. Don't spend the government's money, and you will be fired. No wonder we're facing a $13 trillion deficit. No wonder Nevada has nearly tripled inflation-adjusted, per-pupil education spending in the last 50 years without improving student achievement. No wonder there's no correlation between spending and student achievement.
"You will literally be fired, whoever you are," she said. "You must spend this money. If your school district or state is not in a budget crisis, then that is excellent news for you. Most of you are, and we're trying to help you make sure you maximize those dollars in the best way possible. They simply must be used. They were passed by Congress during an economic crisis, and it is your obligation as stewards of taxpayer dollars to spend it wisely, appropriately and in any way possible to help defray the budget crunch a lot of you are facing." [Emphasis added]
Why do we have a federal Department of Education again?
