A FULLY VETTED IDEA FOR EDUCATION
Can Illinois Schools Pass the ‘Open Book’ Test?

By Adam Andrzejewski
May 9, 2008

Illinois government is a big bureaucracy.  There are 7,200 Illinois taxing bodies; Illinois leads the nation in units of government.  Illinois does have a commitment to ethics.  However, watching over a $60 billion government budget with 73,000 state employees, the Illinois Ethics Commission has only a budget of $356,000 and three employees.  What is a regular person to do?  Can you individually change all of Illinois government, from your living room?  NO!  But, you know your own backyard and you can get your own backyard in order!

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.

In the last 60 days, ForTheGoodOfIllinois coffee talks have reached over 350 citizens.  In living rooms and businesses, regular people with common sense have heard our ‘open the books’ proposal.  Initially, citizens may have walked in with reservations, but most leave with a sense of purpose and direction.  Participation numbers have been striking.  72% of attendees have committed to volunteering at some level.

School districts need to shutter the old paradigm of restricted access!

Parents need to be involved with their children’s education and all taxpayers want to see the efficient use of their money.  The level of parent/taxpayer involvement and participation follows school policies of openness and communication.  Therefore having a policy of restricted access to their school district’s financial information in the internet age is misguided at best and not in-tune with the worsening financial environment.  School policies of openness, communication and welcome must be established. 

Requesting financial information under the current paradigm is complicated and intimidating.  Parents have to travel to the district office during office hours (typically 8am- 4pm), file a Freedom of Information Act form, wait seven days, and possibly pay a fee to access any financial information of their district!  Most parents work during these school office hours.  What does a parent who works second or third shift do? What if you work two jobs? 

Citizens should just turn their computer on and access the information!

Right now at least three school districts in Illinois post their check registers on the internet.  Huntley School District #158, Carpentersville Community District #300, and Oak Park Elementary #97 are leading the way toward greater openness and communication.  As the verbal commitments from interested school districts pileup, Illinois will have many multiples of this number posting their check registers by back to school time in September!

Ask your local school district to ‘Open the Books’.

For The Good Of Illinois.
To learn more email:
adam@forthegoodofillinois.org