How "transparent" is your school district?

by Amy Oliver | 4:37 pm, November 8, 2011

Want to know the answer to that question? Then read the new report from the Independence Institute Education Policy Center titled Time to Show the Money.
Co-authors research associate Devan Crean and senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow reviewed 178 K-12 school districts, 16 BOCES, and the Charter School Institute to determine if they were compliant with [...]

Thompson School District MLO “facts” don’t add up

by Amy Oliver | 10:49 pm, September 6, 2011

The Thompson School District in Loveland, Colorado will ask voters to give up an additional estimated $12.8 million annually for the next 12 years to fund schools. In August the school board voted unanimously to put the Mill Levy Override on the November 2011 ballot.  In a press release the board stated: The district is [...]

Unimaginative recommendation for Thompson School District

by Amy Oliver | 3:35 pm, June 17, 2011

As the Thompson School District “studies” how to get more cash from taxpayers, this might be a good time to remind the Loveland school district that more money does not equate to better education as Transparency Czarina Amy Oliver Cooke wrote in a 2009 guest editorial when her school district sought a $16 million mill [...]

If it’s for the children, please explain…

by Amy Oliver | 4:33 pm, May 16, 2011

Yawn. Another press conference with State Senator Rollie Heath, chairman of the “Unimaginative Failure” (a.k.a. the Long Term Fiscal Stability Commission), promoting another tax increase for the takings coalition.
This time Heath plans to collect enough signature to put a temporary K-12 education tax increase on the ballot that would raise the state’s income tax rate [...]

If it’s for the children, please explain…

by Amy Oliver | 4:33 pm, May 16, 2011

Yawn. Another press conference with State Senator Rollie Heath, chairman of the “Unimaginative Failure” (a.k.a. the Long Term Fiscal Stability Commission), promoting another tax increase for the takings coalition. This time Heath plans to collect enough signature to put a temporary K-12 education tax increase on the ballot that would raise the state’s income tax [...]

A high price for access

by Amy Oliver | 2:03 pm, January 15, 2011

Denver Post political investigative reporter Chuck Plunkett asks a thousand dollar question: Is $1,050 an unreasonable amount to pay for access to public records? As a diehard proponent of open, transparent government obviously I think the cost is out of line.
In my experience with open records request, I have found that charges vary from agency [...]

“Fishy” Practices in Adams County as Superintendent Splashes Out on Hotel Upgrades, Late Fees

by Michael | 9:11 am, December 8, 2010

Cash-strapped Adams County School District–in a school year that featured salary freezes and a three percent budget reduction among other cost-cutting measures–could ill-afford to waste precious resources and yet, it appears that was the case, as CBS 4 in Denver revealed:
Adams County School District 50 squandered precious taxpayer dollars month after month by not [...]

Citizen Auditors can win cash prizes

by Amy Oliver | 7:42 am, July 16, 2010

Become a Citizen Auditor and win $2500! Mothers Against Debt, the Independence Institute, Liberty on the Rocks and Americans for Prosperity are sponsoring Citizen Auditor training throughout Colorado.
Become a citizen auditor and win cash!
The Independence Institute will conduct classes to teach concerned citizens how to use the state’s Transparency Online Project (TOP) web site, our [...]

Citizens make a difference in Lewis-Palmer School District

by Amy Oliver | 5:46 pm, June 18, 2010

If you don’t think local activists asking a few a questions can make a difference, then visit a new watch-dog Web site that is keeping an eye on the Lewis-Palmer School District in Monument. Lewis-Palmer Direction 38 explains its mission:
This site aims to provide another source of information for the public to access.  As citizens of [...]

A citizen hero

by Amy Oliver | 7:00 pm, June 17, 2010

Natalie Menten is a hero (heroine to be accurate) to COST.  Her hobby is to make government accountable to the citizens it serves. On her Web site you will find numerous databases on government employees’ salaries, government credit card spending and fees.
She recently added Jeffco School District salaries. This is important information to have when [...]

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