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Lovejoy ISD has developed a Leadership Lovejoy course aimed at developing ambassadors in the community who can advocate for the district . Principals can nominate parents who are involved at their campus .
“ We ’ ve always done a course on the budget cycle for the school board and campus principals and secretaries ,” Adams said . “ We took that and pared it down for the public . It ’ s another avenue that allows parents to identify with the district leadership and gives a deeper level of information to the community .
Adams cautioned , though : “ Being transparent is an investment of time and staff , but you have to measure the cost of putting the information out there and in what way . Many districts have limited resources .”
Financial Disclosures For most people , transparency typically equates to financial transparency , and it is certainly a large part of it . After all , public schools are just that – funded in large part by taxpayers and thus accountable for those funds to the taxpayers .
Each district has certain financial disclosures it is required to make per state and federal law . The Texas Association of School School Business Officials maintains a checklist of required and optional postings on district websites from budget and purchasing information to tax rates and utilities data . ( www . tasbo . org / tools-templates )
“ The most transparent document we have relates to our budget process ,” said Michele Trongaard , assistant superintendent for finance and operations at Wylie ISD , about the district ’ s official budget book . “ It documents how much we spend per campus and in what areas .”
Because the book is posted on the district ’ s website ( www . wylieisd . net / Page / 1525 ), anyone can delve into the document and view each campus ’ scores , staffing ratios , and so on . A CPA , Trongaard first put the document together for 2008 – 09 to learn more about the district ’ s budget process ; her superintendent had come from a district with a
similar document and supported her effort . “ It ’ s a lot of work . I learned so much about the district doing this ,” she said .
One of the main transparency challenges for school districts is conveying financial information in a way that the public actually understands due to the complexities of school finance . This is especially important for bond package elections , where public support is crucial .
That ’ s why having that ongoing dialogue with the community is so important , said Wilson . “ From a district perspective , if you wait until you have a bond package to start engaging with your community , you ’ ve waited too long .”
Third-Party Recognition Posting trusted third-party accolades , strong accountability ratings , and good audit reports on the district website are other ways to show your district is being a responsible public entity .
“ I think sharing third-party links — whether to the Comptroller ’ s Office , the TEA , an independent auditor ’ s report — are meaningful to the public ,” said Adams , who admitted to being thrilled when third-party experts come in because she ’ s proud to share her team ’ s work .
Trongaard agreed : “ They can help with your credibility and trust with the public .”
The Texas Comptroller ’ s Office has the Transparency Stars program ( see sidebar ) that recognizes government entities that go above and beyond in their transparency efforts .
Schools FIRST ( Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas ) offers another good financial transparency indicator to share with the public , Trongaard added . The rating system has been in place since 1999 when it was instituted by the TEA in response to Senate Bill 875 in the 76th Texas Legislature .
One drawback is that a public hearing notice regarding the rating must be placed in the local newspaper , which has become an archaic — and often expensive — communications method . “ If we could just post to the Internet , it would save money ,” Trongaard said .
TASBO , in partnership with the Texas Schools Public Relations Association , created a communications toolkit ( www . tasbo . org / schools-first ) to help districts in developing the required annual financial management report that must be provided to taxpayers who attend Schools FIRST public hearings or request a copy . TASBO also provides a Schools FIRST template to help districts understand how there day to day decisions will impact their financial ratings .
“ Public schools are doing great things ,” Adams said , “ but we can ’ t count on others , like the press , to share our good news . Transparency is one way we can do that .”
Since 2008 , Wylie ISD has posted their district ’ s official budget book , which documents how much they spend per campus and in what areas .
TASBO REPORT | AUG 2017