Posted by
John R. LaPlante on Thursday, August 03, 2006 4:31:54 PM
Your tax dollars are going to your local school district. Do you know how they are being spent? The
Yankee Institute for Public Policy, of Hartford, Connecticut, offers ten questions that citizens and school board members should ask. Asking the questions in the short manual
Stopping School Corruption: A Manual for Taxpayers (PDF), can promote more honest governance at schools.
According to Armand A. Fesco, a former district superintendent, too many school boards do not live up to obligations to the public to prevent corruption. Schools, Fesco writes, can practice corruption in three different ways: cheating and deceit; waste and mismanagement; and fraud and stealing.
Among the questions that board members and citizens should ask: Is there a comprehensive list of assets? Who has school credits cards, and are their purchases evaluated? Are income and disbursement funds for student activity funds regularly monitored? How many students does each teacher have throughout the day?
For each question, Fesco gives background information, which explains how the question can reveal corruption. He also offers proposed solutions that school employees and board members can undertake.
Though some of the particulars are unique to Connecticut, the questions are easily transferred to other states.