Washington think tank reveals school district transparency project
From Sunshine Review
October 9, 2009 The Evergreen Freedom Foundation revealed their new School District Transparency Project, which asks Washington school districts to make themselves more accountable for the information made public by the Washington Public Records Act.
[edit] School District Transparency Project
The new project aims to open school districts’ books and check registers and show them online.
In order for taxpayers to know how a school district spends its money by allowing individuals to look into the details of a district’s budget to understand where their tax dollars go and to whom.
In 2008, the EFF asked each school district, in a letter to the superintendent, in the state to link to their budgets and warrants on the websites' homepages. The Washington Public Records Act makes the information public, the EFF just asked school districts to make it readily available to parents and taxpayers. The EFF then drafted a follow-up letter to each district encouraging greater participation.[1]
As of October 2009, seven school districts have responded by posting their budgets and check registers online, making them the first members of the EFF School District Transparency Honor Roll.
The EFF is encouraging parents and other Washington state taxpayers to encourage the other 289 districts to follow their positive example. Some districts that have refused to post budgets or expenditures online, some districts are considering the request, and some districts have not responded.[2]
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