Idaho school districts fail transparency test

Idaho school districts earned an overall “D” transparency grade for information available on their websites according to an analysis conducted by Sunshine Review, a pro-transparency group.

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.

School districts Bonneville Joint School District and Pocatello-Chubbuck School District earned perfect transparency scores. However, school districts overwhelmingly failed the transparency test, with 40 of the 75 earning an “F.” Many of the school districts failed to post financial information, scoring badly on audits, contracts, and budgets.

Wayne Hoffman, the Executive Director of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, was not surprised by the school districts’ poor performance.

“Unfortunately, the results are not surprising. For too many school districts, government transparency is little more than an afterthought. In other school districts, transparency is an inconvenience. The districts that do the job well recognize how important government transparency is. It’s our hope that all Idaho school districts come to recognize that transparency is a basic and core function of government, and without it, taxpayers have every right to be suspicious of how well their money is being spent,” said Hoffman.

Despite the dismal scores reported, transparency in the school districts will be increasing later this year thanks to a bill which will require any school districts with over 300 students to post their spending online.

The President of Sunshine Review Michael Barnhart believes that proactively disclosing spending will have a positive impact on Idaho’s schools performance.

“It is crucial for parents and taxpayers to have access to complete information about how school districts operate,” said Barnhart.

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.

Idaho Senate approve school transparency bill

The Idaho Senate approved a bill which will make schools to publish their financial data today. Now schools with over 300 students will be more transparent.

The bill was approved after Lt. Gov. Brad Little cast the deciding vote. This was the second time the bill was proposed.