A state school board member wants local school districts to post their financial records online to increase transparency and accountability.
Betty Peters, District 2 Alabama School Board member, is pushing for local school districts to begin posting their check registers online.
Peters said posting check registers online wouldn’t be much of a burden to school district employees because many school districts are already doing electronic banking, meaning many of their financial records are already in a digital format. Peters said the goodwill school districts could reap from an accountability effort would be worth the cost.
“In many communities, public education is suffering from a lack of trust and support by the taxpayers and voters,” Peters said via e-mail. “The schools often think the solution is to hire a public relations expert, yet the real answer is to be upfront with the public -- in first grade jargon, they should use the ‘show and tell’ approach.”
Peters said she’s planning on talking with school board members, local school system employees and other officials and hopes to have a work session devoted to the issue soon.
Peters was inspired to pursue this issue by the work of Peyton Wolcott, a Texas resident who has led a push for accountability.
Wolcott became interested in school finance accountability after requesting purchasing records from the Marble Falls Independent School District and being asked to pay $426 for the information.
Wolcott, a former journalist, was irked by the district’s stonewalling and decided to do some digging. Wolcott’s work resulted in a state audit and the resignation of district administrative staff and school board members.
Wolcott didn’t stop there, however. As a result of her efforts and those of like-minded individuals, 423 school districts in 28 states (303 in Texas) now post check registers and other financial information online.
“Transparency’s always a good idea for any governmental entity fueled by taxpayer dollars,” Wolcott said via e-mail. “It’s especially timely now with the challenges facing our economy. Good administrators can tell their communities, ‘Look, we’re being such good stewards of your money we’re opening up our books to you. Come see for yourself.’”
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement