For this holiday weekend, some free, unsolicited advice targeted at your local elected officials: Starting now, endeavor to be not just transparent but forthright.
That’s the reflection from reading John Sahly’s Shaw Local report Wednesday about the U.S. Department of Education freezing $6 billion in federal education grants, which implicates $240 million Congress had already allocated to Illinois K-12 schools.
It’s easy to find commentary on the political machinations – the story includes useful quotes from state and district administrators – but the suggestion here is intended specifically to sidestep the broader narratives in favor of direct communication with local taxpayers.
Whether that be social media, a personal blog, direct mail or cooperation with local media, the idea is to go beyond the transparency of open meetings and documents posted to official websites to actively (and as apolitically as possible) explain to constituents what sources fund which programs and how the many moving parts of government influence what the public actually encounters.
One example from Sahly’s report is Sterling Public Schools Superintendent Tad Everett explaining summer school used to draw funding from Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, a $13.2 billion Congressional COVID response, and once that money went away, so did summer school.
It’s a useful anecdote for the story and a template for what districts nationwide must consider: If federal money is frozen or eliminated, will state or local revenue make up the difference? If so, will that cause something else to be cut or increase taxpayer obligations?
It will be difficult to discuss these challenges without acknowledging the cart-before-the-horse aspect of freezing funding related to federal laws without changing the laws requiring implementation of the programs the money supports. But having encountered school board or city council members who go out of their way to explain minutiae, it’s remarkable the amount of goodwill a local politician can engender simply by demystifying spending.
This isn’t just a school issue, and it doesn’t need to involve federal influence. Imagine someone from your village board detailing every last penny from your most recent gas purchase. Some are getting on board as it relates to replacing the 1% grocery sales tax, but the more information our officials can put forth for taxpayers, the better.
How much does the marching band spend on new music each fall? Who pays to paint the school logo at midfield? What is the impact of overdue fines on the library budget? When I buy a box of popcorn at the pool, does any of that go toward lifeguard paychecks?
Perceiving and proactively answering these questions helps local politicians appear informed and connected. I regularly encourage readers to start conversations, but the elected can – and should – seize this moment.
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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