Senate passes school financial transparency bill

Education» SB128 would require school districts to share school finance data they already collect on the state’s financial transparency website.

By lisa Schencker

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Feb 04 2013 02:01 pm • Last Updated Feb 04 2013 06:06 pm

The Senate unanimously passed a bill Monday aimed at making it easier for Utahns to see exactly how their schools spend money.

SB128 would require school districts to share school finance data they already collect on the state’s financial transparency website, said bill sponsor Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City. The website already has some of that data, but districts don’t always report it consistently.

Thatcher said the bill would cost $15,800, mainly for changes to the website and training.

State superintendent Martell Menlove, however, has questioned whether the bill would actually cost that little if the state were to put information online for every school in Utah, rather than just for school districts. And he questioned last week at a committee meeting how valuable such data would really be to the public given its complexity.

lschencker@sltrib.com

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