HARRISBURG Pa.
Pennsylvania’s student loan agency spent about $2.2 million over five years on promotional giveaways, such as logo-enscribed golf balls, pencils, clothing and reusable glowing ice cubes, a newspaper reported.
The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reported Sunday that in the five years ending June 30, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency purchased, among other items, 150 brass clocks at $22 each, $30 L.L. Bean jackets, 3,000 peppermint candies with its logo on the wrapper and $3,400 worth of gummy brains candy.
“Gummy brains? The officials at PHEAA must have gummy brains if they were willing to waste scholarship money on these types of wasteful expenditures,” said Rep. Josh Shapiro.
Shapiro, D-Montgomery, is sponsoring legislation that, among other things, would limit PHEAA’s spending on promotional items.
PHEAA spokesman Keith New said such spending has ended since the lawmaker-dominated PHEAA board directed the agency to purchase only “ordinary and necessary” items. Gummy brains, given to employees as part of the launch of PHEAA’s “big brain” initiative to motivate employees, do not fit the new guidelines.
“It was meant to be a clever way to get people to take a break from what they were doing in their jobs and focus on the brand because so many times people … don’t take a look at the entire enterprise,” New said. “But you will never see anything like that again.”
