Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Pa Left Resists Transparency of Education Bill

January 14, 2014

Bill requiring schools to post spending has "some" worried

The Pennsylvania House on Monday approved legislation that many say will force schools to be more transparent about how they handle taxpayer dollars.

The bill requires the state to develop an online database, SchoolWATCH, that would allow the public to sift through district data detailing revenues and expenditures at each building.

Lancaster County state lawmakers supported the measure. Many said the site will provide information for schools in a uniform way, making it easy for taxpayers to see if their investment is delivering results.

"This should be very helpful for those who want to understand how our districts work at a deeper level. This is a positive step for everyone involved," said Narvon Republican Gordon Denlinger, a sponsor of the bill.

But at least two local school officials gave mixed reviews of the legislation.

Eastern Lancaster County School District business manager Keith Ramsey said he, along with many other district financial officers in the county, already post their expenses online.

"In a way I consider this redundant, but then I also understand why the General Assembly wants to make things more transparent," he said. "And taxpayers may be able to track down the information a little better."

His chief concern, however, is that districts may be unfairly compared.

Ramsey said that while there are rules in place about how to tabulate expenditures there is some flexibility in the system which may not be reflected in side-by-side comparisons. 

The reporting requirements for school districts would be phased in over time to prevent additional cost and administrative burden to districts. The bill also uses existing public school reports where possible to avoid duplicative reporting. 

The legislation was authored by Republican Jim Christiana from Beaver County, who created a similar website that details state government spending. That site, called PennWATCH, was the result of the 2011 law Christiana proposed and sponsored.

The only difference between that site and SchoolWATCH is that the latter will not post individual school employee salaries; however, that information could still be accessed by submitting a Right to Know request with the state.

Landisville Republican Ryan Aument is a strong proponent of the SchoolWATCH legislation. He said he hopes it will increase accountability. 

Aument also had a hand in crafting an amendment to the bill that authorizes the state to develop an efficiency rating using SchoolWATCH data — linking spending with student academic outcomes.

Pennsylvania taxpayers invested more than $26 billion in public education. Meanwhile, Aument said, we still have more than 20 percent of students scoring at or below basic levels in math and reading. 

Hempfield superintendent Brenda Becker said creating a formula to show how money impacts performance would be extremely complex to calculate. 

"It's well intended but the devil is in the details. You can't compare apples to oranges — it doesn't work," she said. 

Aument said this rating is not an attempt to punish school districts.

"This is a system that is going to give us information that is going to help us develop best practices," he said. 

The bill passed the House 119-81, with all Lancaster County Republican members in support. Mike Sturla, the lone Democrat in the delegation, voted against the legislation. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

It now moves to the Senate for consideration, where it is likely to find support among GOP party leaders.
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