Helene relief became a slush fund for campus nonsense

A state audit found mental health money spent on rhino stress balls, succulents and guided bird walks. It’s time to claw back the rest.

Apparently, you can’t give college administrators an inch of latitude with how they spend public money.

That may sound harsh, but a new state audit released Monday makes a pretty strong case for it. The Office of the State Auditor examined how community colleges used $1.25 million in Hurricane Helene emergency relief money meant to support student and staff mental health.

Two-thirds of the money remains unspent. But what did get purchased is enough to make you do a double-take. The audit found thousands of dollars spent on rhino-shaped stress balls, potted succulents, wellness journals and guided bird walks.

My first instinct was to ask why the General Assembly put this money in the budget at all. But on reflection, I think lawmakers had the right idea. Mental health support is a legitimate part of disaster recovery.

Still, this is the risk when you throw hundreds of millions of dollars around and then send the money through layer after layer of bureaucracy. Common sense gets lost somewhe…