Transparency - What's Good for the Goose . . .

Public schools must now post on their website information about salaries and benefits.  Check out the Grand Ledge Public Schools page.  The Budget and Salary Transparency Reporting page provides information about the insurance plans employees have, how much employees contribute toward their insurance, employee contracts, and the salaries of any employee who earns over $100,000.  While this transparency is legislatively mandated, I believe that it serves a broader purpose.  It shows that we have nothing to hide.

However, it seems that there are public schools in Michigan that are trying to hide things.  Look at these websites:  School One, School Two, and School Three.  What is the common thread on these Budget and Salary Transparency pages - all of these schools do not report salary information like our school district and other school districts do because they claim that they either have no personnel costs or that they use a third party to hire so they do not have to report.

All of these schools are that I listed are charter schools.  There seems to be a double-standard at work when regular public schools must report information but these supposedly public charter schools can obfuscate and hide information.  It is probably technically true that they use a third party to hire but it is still tax money that they are using.

These three charter schools examples have some of the highest administrative costs in the state according to the State of Michigan's Michigan Department of Education's BULLETIN 1014 - Michigan Public School Districts Ranked By Selected Financial Data Published Revised May 2010.  Vista Meadows had the 3rd highest administrative cost, Reach Charter had the 6th highest administrative costs, and University Prep had the 26th highest administrative costs.

Yet, a person would not be able to see evidence of that on their Budget and Salary Transparency Reporting page.

It appears like there is a double standard at work.

In running a school there are administrative costs.  However, there seems to be a bias that says charter schools are more efficient than regular public schools.  In ranking schools, the evidence suggests that there are public schools with above average administrative costs and there are charter schools with above average administrative costs.  There are also public schools with below average administrative costs and charter schools with below administrative costs.

I believe that the Budget and Salary Transparency Reporting page is to demonstrate that schools are using money wisely.  That is a good goal.  I just wish that every public school - regular and charter public schools - were required to present the data in the same way.