Open Illinois.org

In some disappointing news, LaGrange-based School District 105 has decided not to post its expenditures online. In a letter dated January 22, 2009 to Liberty Leader Victoria Franzese, the district’s director of business services Cathy Johnson writes:

Thank you for taking the time to speak to the School Board regarding your desire to have all Accounts Payable transactions posted on-line.

We have investigated this possibility and at this time are choosing not to post this information on-line.

As you well know, this information is available with a simple request under the Freedom of Information Act. Should you need a copy at any time please direct your request to the Secretary to the School Board, Denise Struve.

This disappointing on a number of levels, not least because Victoria had done fine work in approaching the board and talking about the benefits of transparency.

The thought that online transparency is unnecessary because the information is already available through FIOA misses the point. Sure, you can request spending, salary and contract documents through FOIA, but it takes time, manpower, and money. Sometimes requests go through, but sometimes they don’t.

Wouldn’t make everyone’s lives easier if the District 105 school board were to simply post the expense reports that they likely already read at their board meetings online? It’s simple, quick and inexpensive (free) to do this, and the district already has a great website to use for this purpose.

Take a look at a copy of the original letter here.