Transparent schools offer taxpayers access to expenses

Five school districts across the state of Kansas are making available to taxpayers extensive data on school expenses, including payroll, contracts, spending, and more. Details and examples inside.

Five school districts across the state of Kansas are making available to taxpayers extensive data on school expenses.

The aim of the project, make available through the Web site KansasOpenGov.org, is to provide complete transparency within school systems.

Taxpayers can now see how much teachers and administrators earn, and exactly what is spent on consultants and janitorial services. The service even provides details on costs for professional education, as well as details on each check that is written within the school system.

Employment agreements are also available for viewing online.

School spending makes up 53 percent of Kansas’ general fund – the goal of transparency is to aid in cutting waste in the system.

Original coverage on the transparency initiative can be found here.

And here are some of the reports available on KansasOpenGov.org:

Visit KansasOpenGov.org to access other reports and data.