| H o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n : o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e . Copyright 1999-2009 Peyton Wolcott |
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How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
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| Conservative Commentary - Editorials & News Stories (January 2009) |
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| COMMENTARY Wolcott: Just how much is transparency worth to our nation's schools? Plenty Peyton Wolcott, LOCAL CONTRIBUTOR Austin American-Statesman Monday, January 12, 2009 Life can be pretty amazing if we let it. A bunch of us — parents and taxpayers — had for several years filed public records requests in our school districts to learn more about their financial operations. With so much industry now offshore, in most counties in America public schools are the largest single budget and employer. After a while we began running into a series of brick walls. For me, it was detainment in August 2006 by three armed school district police officers whose superintendent hadn't liked my taking pictures of misleading signage on his front door and main lobby wall. The great thing about metaphorical brick walls is that they can have hidden doors. The trick is to find them. For me, the hidden door was to start compiling a national roster of school districts posting their check registers online as a means of giving form, energy and substance to the barest beginnings of a grass-roots movement promoting transparency. As a practical matter, back then, I couldn't get anyone else interested in online public school check registers. Though there had been encouraging beginnings at the state level with Gov. Rick Perry's executive order calling for schools to spend at least 65 percent of their dollars in the classroom, it's still not the law. In addition, that the formula had been diluted such that an option for those failing to meet the mark — posting their check registers online — was not likely to be utilized by many. As of this week, only six have applied to the Texas Education Agency for their three Schools FIRST points. Local superintendents, who privately supported my efforts, made it clear that that they viewed receiving public records requests as something akin to being attacked with a stick. Part of it was a fear of the unknown, that villagers would attack the administration building in the dead of night with pitchforks and lanterns. The online check register movement, being completely voluntary, gave them an opportunity to do the right thing. You could say the carrot won over the stick. To those first 30 Texas superintendents, and to Commissioner Robert Scott for putting TEA's checks online, I will always be grateful. Their willingness to venture into unknown territory has jumpstarted the nation's public school transparency movement. In our tanking economy, with constant news about deficits and fraud in our schools, for them to remain strong, free and locally governed, they're going to have to streamline, and this starts a real dialogue. Texas has 302 school districts (of 1,031) voluntarily posting check registers online, with a national total of 422 in 28 states, and more than $50 billion in annual transparency. Pretty amazing, huh? _______________________________ Wolcott, who lives in Horseshoe Bay, has compiled a comprehensive public school check register roster at www.peytonwolcott.com. |
| AUSTIN, TEXAS AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN |
| DOTHAN, ALABAMA THE DOTHAN EAGLE |
| Peters pushes for accountability By Jim Cook The Dothan Eagle Online: January 19, 2009 (Print January 20, 2009) A state school board member wants local school districts to post their financial records online to increase transparency and accountability. Betty Peters, District 2 Alabama School Board member, is pushing for local school districts to begin posting their check registers online. Peters said posting check registers online wouldn’t be much of a burden to school district employees because many school districts are already doing electronic banking, meaning many of their financial records are already in a digital format. Peters said the |
| Shine a light on school spending Dothan Eagle editorial Published online: January 22, 2009 We applaud state school board member Betty Peters of Dothan, who wants the public to know how its money is being spent. This week, Peters urged local school districts to post some financial information, such as details from a check register, on their Web sites for easy access by members of the public. “In many communities, public education is suffering from a lack of trust and support by the taxpayers and the voters,” Peters told the Eagle. “The schools often think the solution is to hire a public relations expert, yet the real answer is to be up front with the public.” City and county school systems operate with tax funds, and state law requires that financial information for those systems be available to the public. We see no reason why Peters’ suggestion should not be implemented. Taxpayers deserve a convenient way to review public spending so they can make informed decisions about education-targeted tax hike proposals. The additional daylight should also make school boards and administrators think twice about potentially questionable expenses. |
| Betty Peters, Alabama State Board of Education |
| MARBLE FALLS, TEXAS THE RIVER CITIES TRIBUNE |
| Enter the American miracle of the Internet. Schools soon found it both convenient and cost effective to do their banking online; because their checks were now online, sharing them with the public suddenly became a simple process of sorting out payroll and HIPAA-related checks then posting whatever was left as a PDF. Sunshine comes to the Highland Lakes How quickly has this caught on? Where only two years ago only a few dozen districts were posting their checks in all of the U.S., now over three hundred are doing so in Texas alone, with another hundred-plus in the rest of the nation, spread over more than half of the states. Happily, both Marble Falls ISD (one of the first thirty in Texas) and Llano ISD are online. As MFISD superintendent Ryder Warren says, "In the six |
| Highland Lakes schools are leaders in transparency By Peyton Wolcott The River Cities Tribune Sunday, January 25, 2009 One of the great things about Americans is our resiliency. Present us with a problem and we find new and different ways of solving it. A terrific example of this has occurred here in the Highland Lakes. |
| The marble falls after which Marble Falls was named |
| goodwill school districts could reap from an accountability effort would be worthwhile; generally there are no additional costs involved. “In many communities, public education is suffering from a lack of trust and support by the taxpayers and voters,” Peters said via e-mail. “The schools often think the solution is to hire a public relations expert, yet the real answer is to be upfront with the public—in first grade jargon, they should use the ‘show and tell’ approach.” Peters said she’s planning on talking with school board members, local school system employees and other officials and hopes to have a work session devoted to the issue soon. Peters was inspired to pursue this issue by the work of Peyton Wolcott, a Texas resident who has led a push for accountability. Wolcott became interested in school finance accountability after requesting purchasing records from the Marble Falls Independent School District and being asked to pay $426 for the information. Wolcott, a former journalist, was irked by the district’s stonewalling and decided to do some digging. Wolcott’s work resulted in a state audit and the resignation of district administrative staff and school board members. Wolcott didn’t stop there, however. As a result of her efforts and those of like-minded individuals, 423 school districts in 28 states (303 in Texas) now post check registers and other financial information online. “Transparency’s always a good idea for any governmental entity fueled by taxpayer dollars,” Wolcott said via e-mail. “It’ s especially timely now with the challenges facing our economy. Good administrators can tell their communities, ‘Look, we’re being such good stewards of your money we’ re opening up our books to you. Come see for yourself.’” |
| Several years ago when parents and taxpayers sought transparency in Marble Falls ISD and Llano ISD, finding much beyond pie charts proved elusive. Some of us filed public records requests, then successfully lobbied for state audits in both districts; during this same period, Jack Patton, Llano’s then-superintendent, became what Attorney General Greg Abbott called "the first-known criminal conviction of a public official who violated the state’s Public Information Act." But while everybody agreed in theory that more transparency was desirable, viewing detailed |
| years since I've been here, our school board has always looked for more ways to become transparent, and the online check register is just one more way to do that." Confirming this, long-time MFISD board member Kelly Fox, an assistant professor at Texas Tech, recalls the board‘s decision in December 2006: "It was common sense for a school board member to support transparency. I use the online registry myself to review checks |
| Kelly Fox (R) at MFISD board meeting; trustee Tommy Cheney |
| Marble Falls and Llano schools have already taken. Llano ISD's wire transfers also online Comments Llano taxpayer Pat Donahy, "With Llano ISD now posting both their check registers and their wire transfers online, maybe the schools |
| about our district’s building projects." And, as former MFISD board chair and local realtor Richie Giesecke puts it, "We should be the band down below floor level, with nothing to hide. |
| Richie Giesecke (L) at MFISD board meeting; then-trustee Candie Ratliff (R) |
| Our meetings are always conducted out in the open -- no more behind the scenes at all." This reference to the days when board training sessions were held at remote ranches with little public notice is another example of the transformation he’s seen the district undertake, “another step towards being open to the public." Online wire transfers are still another next step, one which to their credit both |
| that have not done so yet will follow our lead. It's encouraging to see this sign of progress towards greater transparency at the district.” According to LISD CFO Jo Ann Williams, posting wire transfers is “really just a matter of combining two reports from our accounting system, and is a relatively simple process." Online check registers are especially timely in light of the challenges presented by our changing economy. Putting expenditures online is probably the single most effective way a district's leadership can tell a |
| Pat Donahy (R) with Llano ISD trustee Owen Walker |
| community, "Look, we are being such good stewards of your money that we’re opening up our books to you." Hats off to our leadership in Marble Falls and Llano schools. This month is set aside as a time to honor our school boards here in Texas; if you’re fortunate enough to live in Marble Falls or Llano, be sure to thank your local trustees for not only their service but also for their commitment to the cause of transparency. Your superintendent will likely appreciate a friendly nod, too. |
| financials was still a challenge, with copying and personnel costs cited as barriers. |
| Dothan High School - Dothan, Alabama (PHOTO--MCKramer/Flickr) |
| 2004 Marble Falls ISD (TX) board meeting at elementary school cafeteria; trustees Richie Giesecke 5th from left; Kelly Fox 2nd from right; superintendent Ryder Warren at far right. (PHOTO--Peyton Wolcott) |
| Llano ISD's check register Marble Falls ISD's check register |