Three Michigan school districts put check registers online
From Sunshine Review
10 December 2008
As part of an effort to increase financial transparency, three school districts in Michigan have agreed to regularly post their check registers online. The result is part of the "Show Michigan the Money" campaign by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.[1]
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[edit] Transparent School Districts
The three districts that agreed to the transparency measure include Bullock Creek School District in Midland County, Chassell Township School District in Houghton County, and Farmington Public School District in Oakland County. At least one other district has contacted the Mackinac Center about the project, and plans to post its register soon.
Superintendent of Farmington Sue Zurvalec said, "We are committed to transparency, and posting the check registry is just one example of how we do this."[1]
Those already posting registers online include Waterford School District, Clawson City School District, Montrose Community Schools, Bloomfield Hills School District, St. Clair Intermediate School District and Oakland Intermediate School District.
[edit] Show Michigan the Money
Kenneth M. Braun, director of the Show Me the Money Project explained the project, "We believe that getting more information out there is a good thing, and really the changes in technology make it easy enough to do."[2] "We began last spring by sending out a press release to the media asking every district to do it, and now we're approaching districts individually, beginning with Oakland County."[3] The ultimate goal is to have every school district's register posted online.
[edit] Reluctance
Certainly not everyone has been so willing to be part of the project. John Helmholdt, spokesman for Grand Rapids Public Schools said it would be "a major challenge" to invest the time and money it would take to have their information online.
Helmholdt wrote, "This would be a matter of prioritizing dollars and staff time. Our books and finances are already fully transparent and available to the public. Furthermore, our Finance Committee is an open meeting that is also videotaped and posted on the Internet and Channel 27/902. All agendas and most if not all supporting financial documents are available for viewing and download on our Web site. So the question becomes 'Does the public want us to redirect resources and staff time to this project or continue investing the dollars in the classrooms, in the students?'"[2]
Braun said no other district has said it would be too expensive to put their checks online, but some did say that their websites are not currently advanced enough to handle the program.
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oakland Business Review, Farmington schools move toward more financial transparency with 'Show Michigan the Money', December 10, 2008
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Grand Rapids Press, Some school have their books wide open online, December 10, 2008
- ↑ The Detroit News, Schools' spending posted online, December 10, 2008
