Colorado Spending Transparency

Residents of the Poudre School District in Fort Collins realize that transparency means more than financial.  The Fort Collins Coloradoan and some taxpayers are demanding more transparency when it comes to school district policies.  

According to Coloradoan editor Bob Moore, the district’s deliberate withholding of information about the arrests of two employees was unlike anything he had ever seen and ”has prompted the Coloradoan to investigate the issue and compile the ongoing coverage regarding transparency in Fort Collins area schools…”

Moore also stated that the trust between the school district and the community has eroded.  Facing a nearly $12 billion budget shortfall, the district is contemplating asking voters for a property tax increase this fall.  Poudre School District need only look east to Greeley Evans School District 6 to see how voters feel about giving more of their money to a school district that doesn’t respect taxpayers enough to share information whether its financial or policy related.

Check out the Coloradoan’s extensive coverage of the Poudre School District and transparency.  Also check out Transparency Czarina Amy Oliver Cooke’s podcast on iVoices with Bob Moore.

According to a recent article in the Fort Collins Coloradoan, Colorado State University “workers with university-issued purchasing cards spent more than $60,000 on everything from pizzas, coffee and bottled water to steak, seafood and sushi — all in a single month.”

Some of the expenditures were well justified by CSU employees.  For example:

CSU Athletic Director Paul Kowalczyk took a slew of current and potential donors out to lunch at Bahama Breeze in Las Vegas, spending $322.28 on everything from sodas and shrimp salads to grilled tilapia, crispy chicken and salmon tostada. Unlike most spending justifications, Kowalczyk provided a detailed listing of with whom he had lunch and why…Among the guests were longtime donors who own real estate and casino interests. The justification notes how much each guest has given to CSU over the years, and how much “capacity” they have to give more.

Others were not. 

A recently released internal audit of top-level administrators’ offices at CSU noted the literal rubber-stamping of some spending authorizations and numerous purchasing card violations in the Division of Advancement and Strategic Initiatives. That audit found no evidence of misspending, but a lack of appropriate oversight.

Higher education desperately needs more transparency.