Prospects for 65 percent proposal fading

The idea of slating 65 percent of educational funding toward classroom use sounds good on the face of it, and at the outset it appeared to be just the thing to make Missouri Democrats appear to be the tool of teacher organizations.
Fortunately, Missourians, Republican and Democrat, realized this plan has serious flaws and that is why it has been pushed back from its initial frontburner status, according to an Associated Press article today.
The biggest criticisms of the plan have been that it would take spending decisions away from local school boards and it does not count librarians, counselors and school nurses, among others in the 65 percent allowed for classroom expenses.
I never liked the idea of having Missouri follow in lockstep with something that is being done in other states, especially when there is no valid evidence to show that this plan will work, and when it is being pushed by people whose agenda clearly includes school vouchers.
On the other hand, perhaps our legislators should take a different approach. Instead of mandating an artificial spending formula, why not empower voters by making more information available online about how taxpayer money is being spent by school districts.
Let's require that school districts publish considerably more information in their annual report cards. For instance:
-Instead of listing how much money a district pays its administrators as a total and not individually, let's list what each administrator receives. If fringe benefits, beyond the employee health insurance package, are being paid, then itemize each of those. I thoroughly recall the postings on Neosho Forums about the school car driven by former Superintendent Mark Mitchell. That kind of expense would be listed under this proposal.
-For that matter, why not list what every school employee makes? Forget about privacy concerns. When taxpayers are footing the bill, they have every right to know exactly how their money is being spent.
-Have each district post its salary schedule so taxpayers can see how their teachers are being rewarded. Many smaller school districts make a big deal out of raising their base salary for beginning teachers to make a school more attractive for teachers who have just graduated, but pay little more than that to veteran teachers, which usually leaves students in those districts receiving most of their education from inexperienced instructors.
-Post an itemized listing of what each person receives for extra duty pay. When I was in the Diamond School District, teachers were stunned by an extra-duty schedule which paid the golf coach at the time more than the football coach, when it is obvious that the season is longer and so are the hours and the work involved.
-Return to the days when school report cards included an itemized listing of how much extracurricular activities cost, including salaries, transportation, etc.
-Post each year how many teachers have left a school district, how many years they had been in the district, and what their reasons were for leaving. Of course, some reasons would have to be listed as "personal," but by providing information on whether teachers left to go to another school, to a non-school position, retired, or resigned would be useful information for voters to have. Is there a reason why teachers are leaving a school district? If so, is it pay, benefits, problems with administrators, or maybe it is just a cleaning out of malcontents. This would also enable communities to keep an eye on administrators who cut costs each year by eliminating teachers who are up for tenure and bringing in inexpensive, inexperienced beginners, no matter how detrimental the effect might be on the students. This is another practice which has gained notoriety in smaller school districts.
Of course, there would be opposition to posting nearly all of the information listed above, but this is the kind of basic material that would let taxpayers know exactly how their money is being spent and if school board members and school administrators are exercising their fiscal responsibilities.
Instead of creating a new bureaucracy to enforce a 65 percent rule, let's put the enforcement power right where it belongs...in the hands of the taxpayers.
If people are not satisfied with what the administrators are doing or the school board members, they can elect different representatives. If our legislators could get this kind of change in annual school report cards enacted, it might bring about some of the results they were hoping for with the 65 percent plan, but it would do so by empowering the voters.