Our views: ; Money; Marockie's abuse of his position is a sad lesson to W.Va. taxpayers

WEST Virginians have low incomes and high tax rates. Publicofficials should not have a hard time remembering this fact andhandling taxpayers' money in a respectful manner. But no. All toooften, it becomes clear that one public servant or another hasbecome much too accustomed to handling public funds and has come tothink of public money as a personal convenience he or she isentitled to use.

The damage this does to the public's faith in government isincalculable.

It happens on all levels of government all over the state.

The Charleston Urban Renewal Authority once thought nothing ofspending $500 that came from land sales to throw retirement parties.Agency officials had to be persuaded by the Department of Housingand Urban Development that this was not, as a local officialmaintained, "an appropriate expenditure and good personnel policy."

The Kanawha County Housing and Redevelopment Authority once spent$488.36 on a cocktail party.

An official of the state Public Service Commission went aroundbuying Mont Blanc pens and cameras and such with agency funds.

Now it's become clear that state Superintendent of Schools HankMarockie took leave of his senses in this regard as well. Marockie,applying for a new job in another state, apparently tried toleverage perks received here into higher pay elsewhere.

He thus succeeded in opening quite a can of worms. It turns outMarockie accepted $90,000 in 10 years from a private foundation thatintended to make it possible for the superintendent to hostluncheons for prize-winning students.

Marockie also apparently asked for reimbursement for more than265 trips from the Capitol complex to downtown Charleston - and thestate complied.

Now it turns out that Marockie played fast and loose with hisstate telephone card, making at least 1,700 personal long-distanceand local calls at the taxpayers' expense - roughly $1,200.

It's an outrageous picture.

The early Marockie revelations led to a look at spending bymembers of the state Board of Education.

The situations are not the same since members of the state boardare appointed to nine-year terms and serve without pay.

They are reimbursed for expenses, however.

Spending by a few board members does seem high, and billing thestate $151.21 for attending the funeral of a legislator's wife seemsespecially chinchy.

But it is clear that the board's greater failing was that ittrusted a $100,000-a-year man not to abuse his position.

Public officials should abandon that kind of trust. WestVirginians would prefer close scrutiny of spending instead.