We’ve moved!
FYI, we’ve got a newly redesigned wiki that allows us to blog too. If you’re looking for our new posts please go here.
Sunlight Foundation: “How accurate are lobbying figures?”
The Sunlight Foundation, our ally in transparency, is currently featuring a blog of mine on the disparity between lobbying data and actual lobbying:
A closer look at the requirements makes it clear how easy these requirements are to shirk, and how much they leave out. Consider the fact that they don’t include a lot of what “lobbying” is: influencing legislation. Lobbying disclosure laws do not take into account “grassroots lobbying,” which includes urging citizens to contact their legislators to support or oppose legislation.
Click here to read the full blog, and read others posts on the Sunlight Foundation blog while you’re at it.
Maryland School Districts Score “C” on Transparency Test
Alexandria, VA— Maryland school districts earned an overall “C” for information available on their websites according to an analysis conducted by Sunshine Review, a pro-transparency group. The analysis found that Howard County Public Schools earned a perfect score; Frederick and Montgomery County Schools received the only other “A” grades. Five school districts received failing grades, including Talbot and St. Mary’s County Public Schools.
Sunshine Review employs a “10 Point Transparency Checklist” to assess state and local government websites on proactive disclosure of government information. The checklist measures content available on government websites against what should be provided. Checklist items include information about budgets, meetings, elected and administrative officials, background checks, audits, contracts, academic performance, public records, and taxes.
Marta Hummel Mossburg, a Senior Fellow at the Maryland Public Policy Institute, noted the importance of providing key information. “As Sunshine Review’s analysis of Maryland’s school districts shows, most fail to provide information online about fees funding schools and other key documents. In good times and especially during this recession, parents and residents should have easy access to whether their dollars are being spent wisely.”
President of Sunshine Review Michael Barnhart agreed, saying “It is crucial for parents and taxpayers to have access to complete information about how school districts operate.”
Sunshine Review is a non-profit organization dedicated to state and local government transparency. Sunshine Review collaborates with individuals and organizations throughout America in the cause of an informed citizenry and a transparent government. Since its inception in 2008, Sunshine Review has analyzed the websites of all 50 states, more than 3,140 counties, 805 cities, and 1,560 school districts.
For more information, visit www.sunshinereview.org.
WI Supreme court to determine if public employees’ personal emails fall under public records law
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will consider on Friday whether personal emails of public employees that are maintained on publicly-owned computers are subject to disclosure under the public records law in Schill v. Wisconsin Rapids School District.
Schill started in April 2007 when private citizen Don Bubolz decided he wanted access to non-work emails of five teachers in Wisconsin Rapids School District during a period in 2007. He requested all emails sent from the computers of those teachers.
The district’s computer use policy allowed its teachers and other employees to use the district’s email for occasional personal use. District employees were advised that the district owns not only the computers, but the email accounts used by the employees.
The Wisconsin Rapids School District concluded that the emails constituted public records because they were maintained on a public computer network. The teachers sought to block the release of their personal emails. The circuit court denied the injunction and ordered the district to release all of the personal and work-related emails.
The Supreme Court will decide whether the personal emails are “records” under the public records law. There is apparently no published case in Wisconsin that addresses whether purely personal emails kept on a public computers constitute public records under the statute.
If the emails are found to fall under the public records law, the Supreme Court will have to decide whether the presumption of disclosure will outweigh the public interest in protecting privacy, a balance that can be hard to strike.
Improvements in transparency mark OK session accomplishments
(Oklahoma City, OK) Oklahomans for Responsible Government commends state lawmakers for a session which included several important improvements in government transparency. But at the same time, the most prominent feature of the session – the state’s budget – provided the dark cloud which prevents the session from being declared a completely successful one.
House Bill 3422 by Rep. Ken Miller (R-Edmond) upgrades Oklahoma’s spending website to Open Books 2.0, an idea OFRG first proposed last summer. It requires itemized spending to be available in a searchable format and also provides all spending data in a downloadable format so the press, watchdog groups and any citizen can sift through it. It also provides more information on the tax credits that Oklahoma distributes.
Senate Bill 1633 by Sen. Randy Brogdon (R-Owasso) is the School Transparency Act which would put all spending by school districts – whether state, federal or local tax dollars – on the internet for taxpayers to look at. It also requires that the data be in a format that can be downloaded and sorted instead of posting image files.
“With the passage of Open Books 2.0 and the School Transparency Act, there is no doubt that Oklahoma taxpayers will get a much better view of how government is spending money,” said Brian Downs, OFRG Executive Director. “Before government expands, we must first ensure that the dollars currently appropriated are spent properly.”
The budget agreement reached between Governor Henry and legislative leaders relied far too much on so-called “revenue enhancements” and not enough on budget cuts. While lawmakers talked about cuts as high as 10%, in the end the overall cut was less than 4%. As a result, closing the $1.2-billion dollar budget gap used only $256-million in cuts, relying on gimmicks like a tax on health care claims and raiding the Rainy Day Fund to the point where only $100-million is left for 2012 and beyond.
“It’s unfortunate that lawmakers chose to find ways of raising more money instead of limiting the size of government during an economic downturn,” said Downs. “By relying on Rainy Day and stimulus funds to keep spending up, another difficult budget year is now guaranteed for 2012.”
In the coming days, OFRG will be looking at votes made by lawmakers during this session and whether those votes were in the best interest of taxpayers. The results will be compiled in the Legislative Index and Scorecard for Taxpayers (OFRG LIST) and posted to www.ofrg.org.
Florida School Districts Not Open and Honest with Mom and Dad
For Immediate Release
Florida School Districts Not Open and Honest with Mom and Dad
Five school districts earn an “A” grade; Twenty-two receive failing marks
Chicago, September 9 – The government transparency website, Sunshine Review (sunshinereview.org), a project of the Sam Adams Alliance, has completed transparency evaluations for all seventy-four school districts in the Sunshine State.
Each district website was measured against a ten-point transparency checklist that evaluates the online accessibility of budgets, meetings, elected and administrative officials, academics, background checks, audits, contracts, public records and taxes.
The evaluations were completed in conjunction with Sunshine Review’s Back to School Florida project, which is currently underway. Marion, Palm Beach, Sarasota, Seminole and St. Johns County were the only school districts to earn an “A.” Twenty-two schools, however, received failing marks, leaving the state with a “D” average.
“Parents have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent to educate their kids,” said Kristin McMurray, managing editor of Sunshine Review. “When schools are open and honest with mom and dad by making basic information accessible online, the children win.”
During the evaluation process, the Sunshine Review community learned that only six school districts disclose tax information online. Less than half the school districts publish their budgets as well as information regarding contracts and background checks. Thirty-eight school districts post information about academic performance.
“The Sunshine Review community understands that it’s hard for busy moms and dads to stay on top of their kid’s education.” McMurray said. “Easily accessible information online is a simple solution that benefits, students, parents and educators.”
Sunshine Review encourages parents and taxpayers throughout Florida to visit sunshinereview.org and see how open and honest your school district is. Members of the press can click here to access an electronic press kit and learn more about the Back to School Florida project by visiting www.sunshinereview.org.
Contacts:
Kristin McMurray, Managing Editor
Sunshine Review
312-920-0080 ext. 311
kmcmurray@samadamsalliance.org
Sunshine Review is a wiki website that collects and shares information about transparency, government spending, political corruption, taxpayer-funded lobbying and open records laws. It provides a way for citizens to keep tabs on their government, hold it accountable, and reform wasteful, fraudulent, and corrupt behavior uncovered by measures of transparency.
Government Transparency Is the “New Black”
In an age of “openness” and “oversharing,” it appears that it’s only government that is lagging behind in baring everything to the public.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the geeks — young, tech-savvy celebrity innovators for whom the culture of the Internet age is a way of life — are “on the job” making government data accessible to the masses. “Tech celebs like Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales have flocked to the Sunlight Foundation, which uses the Internet to improve meaningful access to government. Developer Tim Lee says “there’s just a ton of low-hanging fruit. The hard part is getting the data out. The fun part is doing stuff with it.”
Sam Adams Alliance is proud to be doing their part to open up government through Sunshine Review, a collaborative wiki project that aims to collect. and shares information about government transparency, openness and accountability at the state and local level.
Palm Beach School District Earns an “A” Grade for Transparency
For Immediate Release
Palm Beach School District Earns an “A” Grade for Transparency
Sunshine Review Kicks off Back to School Florida Project
Chicago, August 21 – The government transparency website Sunshine Review (www.sunshinereview.org), a project of the Sam Adams Alliance, is proud to announce the launch of Back to School Florida, beginning with its release of Palm Beach County’s transparency grade.
As kids head back to class, Sunshine Review is encouraging parents to take a closer look at their children’s school district and learn how their tax dollars are being spent. The Sunshine Review community has completed transparency evaluations for all school districts in the Sunshine State, providing crucial information to parents and taxpayers alike who value a transparent and accountable government.
“There is more to running a school than term papers and syllabuses,” said Kristin McMurray, managing editor of Sunshine Review. “Parents need to find out what their school board is up to and if their tax dollars are being properly allocated.”
Back to School Florida officially launches September 1, but Sunshine Review is rolling out its report for Palm Beach County schools early. After analyzing the district website against its ten-point transparency checklist, Sunshine Review commends Palm Beach County schools for earning an “A” for both its openness and its accessible information.
Sunshine Review’s transparency checklist itself is a thorough, useful education tool that evaluates the online accessibility of budgets, meetings, elected and administrative officials, academics, background checks, audits, contracts, public records and taxes. Palm Beach County schools received high marks for making all this information available online, with the exception of disclosing complete information on taxes.
“Palm Beach County is one of only five school districts in Florida to receive an “A,” said McMurray. “But we would urge the school to strive for additional transparency by providing the missing tax information on its website.”
During the evaluation process, the Sunshine Review community discovered important information about Palm Beach County schools that students, parents and teachers will find invaluable.
• The district is one of twenty-seven that have registered lobbying activities, allocating over $326,000 dollars on such efforts in 2009.
• Of the twenty-seven school districts with registered lobbying efforts, Palm Beach was one of only three that provided information after receiving FOIA requests.
• Palm Beach has one of the five highest budgets in the state and has the second lowest percentage (16) of their budget dedicated to teachers’ salaries.
• The district received over $29,000,000 dollars under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Sunshine Review is excited to provide Florida parents; teachers and taxpayers with the power of the information in the Back to School Florida initiative. Visit Sunshinereview.org today to see how open and honest your school district is.
Contacts:
Kristin McMurray, Managing Editor
Sunshine Review
312-920-0080 ext. 311
kmcmurray@samadamsalliance.org
Sunshine Review is a wiki website that collects and shares information about transparency, government spending, political corruption, taxpayer-funded lobbying, and open-records laws. It provides a way for citizens to keep tabs on their government, hold it accountable, and reform wasteful, fraudulent, and corrupt behavior uncovered by measures of transparency.
South Carolina Counties Lacking When it Comes to Transparency
For Immediate Release
South Carolina Counties Lacking When it Comes to Transparency
Anderson County receives only “A” grade; eleven others receive failing marks
Chicago, August 19 – The government transparency website Sunshine Review (www.sunshinereview.org), a project of the Sam Adams Alliance, has released transparency grades for all county websites in South Carolina. Each county was evaluated against a ten-point transparency checklist and issued a grade to determine how open and honest they are with the public they serve. The checklist, developed by Sunshine Review, evaluates the online accessibility of budgets, meetings, elected and administrative officials, permits and zoning, audits, contracts, lobbying, public records and taxes.
Sunshine Review’s checklist awarded Anderson County’s website the highest ranking for meeting all ten points on the checklist. Anderson is one of only four counties in the country that have obtained a perfect score from Sunshine Review. Greenville County earned the second best evaluation receiving eight checkmarks and a grade of B-minus. Most of the remaining counties received subpar or failing grades. Read more
Oklahoma Counties Receive Failing Grades After Transparency Evaluations
For Immediate Release
Oklahoma Counties Receive Failing Grades After Transparency Evaluations
Only eight of the seventy seven counties receive passing marks
Chicago, August 11 — Oklahoma Counties overwhelmingly receive failing marks when it comes to transparency according to the website Sunshine Review (www.sunshinereview.org). A project of the Sam Adams Alliance, the government transparency website has released transparency grades for all county websites in Oklahoma. Each county was evaluated against a 10-point transparency checklist and issued a grade to determine how open and honest they are with the public they serve. The checklist, developed by Sunshine Review, requires information regarding budgets, meetings, elected and administrative officials, permits and zoning, audits, contracts, lobbying, public records and taxes be made easily accessible online.
According to the Sunshine Review findings, the most transparent county is Oklahoma County which received a B-minus. Beaver and Tulsa each received a C-minus, meeting five points on the checklist. The most revealing finding by the Sunshine Review community is that fifty seven counties in Oklahoma do not have a website, bringing the total number of counties failing to be open and honest with the public to sixty nine.