Where the Money is Spent

Texas has been a leader in open government and financial transparency when it comes to the state budget, and a growing number of local school districts are also working to make their expenditures more accessible to the public.

As property taxes have climbed, more parents have asked schools to show where their tax dollars are actually spent and whether it was going to the classroom. Since 2005, the push for school district transparency has evolved as several state lawmakers and taxpayers have made increased transparency in school spending a priority.

In 2005, Governor Rick Perry issued an executive order requiring 65 percent of school expenditures to be spent on instruction. To implement this executive order, the Texas Education Agency gave schools three years to reach the 65 percent expenditure requirement. School districts had to ensure that 55 percent of their expenditures were spent on instruction in the 2006-2007 school year, 60 percent in 2007-2008, and 65 percent in 2008-2009. TEA exempted school districts from meeting the “65 percent rule” if they agreed to post their monthly check register and yearly payroll expenditures online.

Parents and activists began asking school districts to make this information available online, even where the district met the requirements of the 65 percent rule. Each month, new school districts chose to post their check register online. Today, more than 400 school districts post their check registers online, up from only a handful of school districts in early 2007.

When the 80th Legislature convened in January 2007, Rep. Bill Zedler filed legislation requiring all school districts to post their check register online by 2009. HB 2560 by Representative Zedler passed the Texas House of Representatives, but did not pass the Senate amid school district protests about the cost of posting their records online.

In 2009, two bills promoting school district transparency were introduced in the Texas Legislature, but neither proposal made it into law. Rep. Mark Strama sponsored HB 1314 that required school districts to post quarterly financial statements online, but the bill died in the House Public Education Committee. Legislation requiring school districts to post their monthly check registers online, HB 1307 by Rep. Brandon Creighton, never even received a hearing.

When the Texas Legislature meets again in January 2011, school district transparency is certain to be an issue again. Until then, some school districts are choosing to make their check registers public without a legislative mandate.