Districts letting the public see spending

President Barack Obama has spoken often of transparency in government. Three Colorado school districts - including Falcon School District 49 - are already on the same page.

In the name of transparency, D-49, Rangely R4 and Durango 9R are putting their check registers online so everyone can see where the money is going. Soon enough, every district in Colorado may be doing the same thing, if a bill making its way through the Legislature passes.

Falcon, the fifth fastest-growing district in the state, made the move recently after parents suggested it at a district accountability committee meeting.

"Transparency is a safeguard of public funds and helps to build public trust," says Mark Shook, Falcon school board member.

Putting a check register on public display makes it is hard to hide any transgressions or overspending by administration or other district personnel, Shook said. And it could save money.

"If there are contractors that think the district is a bottomless pit of money, they will think twice about overbilling if they are going to have the invoice posted for the entire world to see," Shook said.

Other states with transparency regulations have realized such cost savings, said state Sen. Ted Harvey, sponsor of Senate Bill 57,which would require all school districts and charter schools to post check registers online to create a searchable database of revenues and expenditures that would be updated monthly. The bill passed the Senate last week and goes back to the House for more work.

Harvey said Texas saved $2.4 million the first year after putting state agency check registers online because citizens made cost-saving suggestions after seeing the financial information.

Harvey said he singled out school districts because they are one of the largest taxing entities, and the public has a hard time understanding their spending. "Because districts are comprised of those with a vested interest, having an open system can bring accountability and trust," he said.

So far, posting the check register has not cost D-49 any money because the register is a simple PDF file, said Amanda Mountain, D-49 spokeswoman. "However, some costs may ultimately be involved as the district moves to post more and more financial information online in a format that is easily searchable," she said.

Smaller districts worry about the cost of posting much financial information, because their staffing is small and their modest Web sites can't accommodate a lot of it. Dave Grosche, superintendent of the small rural Edison School District 54JT, says he's all for transparency in education, but doesn't have a tech staff, someone to constantly update the information, and a widely searchable Web site.

"I think it will have a negative economic and time impact on us," he said.

Many families in his district are low income and don't have computers. "But because of our small size, they can come to us personally and ask for anything and we can easily give it to them."

Glenn Gustafson, chief financial officer for Colorado School District 11, believes it should be up to districts, not the Legislature, on how to provide financial information.

Even more important than posting the numbers on a Web site is educating the community on the costs of running a district and interpreting the data, he said. He fears people won't understand what the notations mean, or will nitpick the tiniest of items without understanding the big picture.

He added, "We'll probably end up doing it, but the big question is: Is anyone going to look at it and understand it?"

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