Does “Andrzejewski” mean “Transparency”?

Transparency has a strong advocate in Adam Andrzejewski, the Executive Director of For The Good of Illinois, an organization dedicated to transparency on all 7200+ levels of Illinois government. Andrzejewski is currently working to persuade school districts to place their check registers online so parents (and all taxpayers) know where their money is going, and how much of it directly benefits students.

From a recent editorial:

Our schools are literally in our backyards. Having ‘local control’, we fund our public schools with roughly 70% of our property tax monies. Illinois spends $20 billion on public education which amounts to $10,000 per student. We are not receiving a good return on our investment. In the last four years, Illinois students are testing 20% lower on 8th grade reading scores. That’s a steep and fast drop.

How do we know if the $20 billion of Illinois education funding is well spent?

The only way to answer that question is to ‘Open The Books’ of the local school districts! Each school district should post their check register on the school website. The proposal’s simplicity is its strength. There is virtually no cost. The check number, vendor name and amount are already a part of the monthly board packet. Information is already the ‘public’s right to know’ through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Check register posting harnesses current technology with existing law to create a convenient path of community access.

For The Good of Illinois is starting to gain some attention from the press. The Kankakee Daily Journal editorialized on transparency on 5/5/08 and The Pioneer Press published a letter to the editor on 5/15/08.

Three school districts are already posting check registers online: Huntley School District #158, Carpentersville Community District #300, and Oak Park Elementary #97.

3 down, 876 to go. Good Luck, Adam, and thanks for your service to Taxpayers and Parents everywhere.