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Schools urged to open checkbooks

Online posting of district finances slated for debate

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 13, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

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Republican Sen. Ted Harvey knew exactly what was going to happen when he presented his bill to require school districts to post their finances online:

After his three witnesses testified in favor of the measure, education interests would argue against it and the Democratic- controlled Education Committee would kill it.

To Harvey's surprise, a flood of strangers - including a retired reporter and a former county commissioner - showed up in January to urge passage of Senate Bill 57. The measure didn't die, but it was amended to "encourage" districts to post the information rather than require it.

Harvey is going to try to strip the encouragement provision today on the Senate floor. The bill is scheduled for debate.

The last time supporters thought the bill was going to be heard by the full Senate, about 40 people showed up at the state Capitol. Harvey said he wasn't certain what size crowd would be watching today.

"I think the testimony in committee was pretty compelling that it's hard for the taxpayers to be able to understand how their tax dollars are being spent," the Highlands Ranch lawmaker said. "This thing has really caught on."

Some school officials remain opposed to the measure, arguing that it would be an extra cost for districts grappling with the recession.

"This is a year we're going to fund the essentials," said Jane Urschel, deputy director of the Colorado Association of School Boards. "Is a 'searchable database' truly an essential service in a year in which we're not even sure we can keep Colorado schools open five days a week?"

Harvey argued that three other Colorado districts already post that information online. And he said that states with online checkbooks have saved money because the public has been able to point out spending issues.

Among those who testified at the committee hearing was Natalie Menten, of Lakewood, who had asked to see credit-card expenses from the Jefferson County School District.

She found that the district had spent about $10,000 on Starbucks coffee and gift cards over a 20-month period for a variety of meetings, parent get-togethers and such.

"My first thought was, 'Can't they buy a can of Folgers?' " Harvey said.

Jefferson County school officials could not be reached for comment.

Retired Rocky Mountain News reporter Charley Able testified about how difficult it can be for even reporters to get financial information from government. He said the information needs to "include both sides of the ledger," that some expenses that appear questionable actually are reimbursed with private money.

Former Eagle County Commissioner Tom Stone told lawmakers that as a commissioner, he struggled to get information about the county's finances.

"I think all governments should have to put their checkbooks online," he said Thursday. "When people know they're being watched, they behave differently."

Comments

  • February 13, 2009

    2:05 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    BetterEducated writes:

    ***OUR THANKS TO SENATOR HARVEY!!!!***

  • February 13, 2009

    2:27 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    BetterEducated writes:

    Dear Senators,
    When my husband was working in the DPS warehouse in 2001, that department was turned into an "enterprise" dept that generated funds instead of just exhausting them.
    My husband's understanding was that this was accomplished through the addition of district overhead expenses to the cost of goods sold by the DPS warehouse to the respective schools, over and above the amounts DPS actually paid for the goods. The operation was dubbed "Classmax."
    I have always wondered about Classmax and other "enterprise funds" and hoped to see their inlay and outlay as part of the DPS budget posted online, but never have.
    Since Classmax was basically competing with Office Depot and other private material suppliers for the providing of hard goods to the individual schools, my understanding is that it was not very successful and may no longer be in operation, I don't know.
    It was also my understanding that the suppliers had agreed to give DPS a cost break, but that this didn't occur.
    Thank you for noting this information, as an example of the sort of information that the public should be allowed to review without a specific statutory request. I've wondered about it, all these years.