Terrific news! The editors of the Rocky Mountain News today gave a strong endorsement of spending transparency in Colorado schools:

As early as today, the state Senate could make transparency in government more than a neglected campaign promise or a throwaway sound bite.

The Senate will accomplish this, however, only if it makes Senate Bill 57, by Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, truer to its original intent and refuses to pass it in the version approved by the Senate Education Committee. The goal of SB 57 – making school districts and charter schools more accountable to all Coloradans – is worth accomplishing. [link added]

The Rocky went on to criticize efforts by some Democrats in the state senate to water down the legislation into a suggestion or to make the reporting absolutely worthless. Instead, they propose a reasonable compromise of the original version of SB 09-57 that would mark a significant stride toward financial transparency in Colorado public education.

The editorial also cited information from Ben DeGrow’s issue backgrounder on the topic (PDF).

Speaking of transparency, you can listen to the Senate Bill 57 debate online. The state senate convenes this morning at 9 AM. If there are no further delays, the debate should take place this morning.

For more info on how SB09-57 has reached this point, there’s another great article in today’s Rocky by Lynn Bartels.