Free landscaping that ain't free

Mississippi State's now interim president is reported to have directed University staff to provide landscaping (particularly, 13 magnolia trees) for the private residence of the state commissioner of Higher Ed. According to the Clarion Ledger, the effort to make it right by repaying to cost isn't cutting it:

State Auditor Stacey Pickering said Thursday that Watson had repaid $12,333 for the landscaping, interest and investigative costs following an investigation by his office.

The paper reported that a grand jury was going to look further into the allegations. Aside from the basic dollar value, it is simply interesting to see that something often treated as trivial, like landscaping, is being treated here as something of such value that it has sparked a mildly notable scandal.