The Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Trustees can
take a huge step toward transparency by creating and making public
a budget that is easily understandable.
Budget is difficult to comprehend
The Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Trustees can take a huge step toward transparency by creating and making public a budget that is easily understandable. The district’s current budget is an 86-page spreadsheet of general ledger numbers that doesn’t even come close to informing the reader. Sure, the board is looking at distributing a one- to two-page summary of the budget and posting it online. Better late than never, but not good enough.
Both the city of Morgan Hill and the Gilroy Unified School District produce easy-to-read budgets, with summaries and pie charts.
If you want to know how much the city of Morgan Hill spends on paving streets in a particular year, it’s easy to find. If you want to learn what the school district spends on litigation, or any other cost, it’s impossible to find. The current lack of an understandable budget creates the impression that the Board and staff is either trying to hide something or is unwilling to give the public enough information to challenge or support Board or staff decisions.
Spending $4K is worthwhile
When Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini first came on board 17 years ago, the district had a budget book, but there were only about five people who used it and it took $4,000 and countless staff hours to produce, she told reporter Natalie Everett. Sometimes it’s best to do the right thing regardless of the cost, and this is surely the right thing and the cost is not extravagant.
Trustee Shelle Thomas said she wasn’t sure a majority of the board would back spending the time and money on creating a more complete, palatable budget document. She wasn’t convinced that it would be a good use of resources either. With a $70-million general fund budget, $4,000 is pennies. A new, easy-to-read document would go a long way toward alleviating concerns. Secrecy creates an environment where abuse is easy to take hold, it fosters a lack of trust and can camouflage the truth.
Transparency leads to trust
But Board of Education Vice President Bart Fisher said the online budget summary is a good starting point, and he hopes budget formatting is a part of the discussion as the district looks for a new leader. Superintendent Alan Nishino, who retired June 30, will end his interim term Aug. 30.
For some trustees, having a user-friendly budget would go a long way in remedying the district’s oft-criticized communication style. Even if a palatable school budget took hours of staff time and created more criticism from the public, the advantages would be worth it, Trustee Bart Fisher said.
“I would prefer we get into trouble for being too open” than for being too closed off, he said.
Agreed.
