05-05-2025
Introducing the first Public School Transparency Index for Idaho
The Public School Transparency Index is a tool that will allow taxpayers and officials to compare and contrast key data from the state's school districts, writes guest columnist Chris Cargill. (Getty Images)
School district budgets are a maze of numbers and jargon that most citizens cannot understand. Even some lawmakers have difficulty concluding if a school district is spending money properly.
Idaho's largest school district, the West Ada School District, has a budget that can be found online, but it is hundreds of pages long and includes six different funds and 36 different programs. In Montana, the Billings Public School district is the state's largest. Finding its budget on the district's website is nearly impossible.
Transparent Idaho now offers public education data
That's why Mountain States Policy Center is proud to release the nation's first Public School Transparency Index. This tool — available online, via download or even print on Amazon — will allow citizens, taxpayers, elected officials and more the opportunity to compare and contrast key data from school districts in the state of Idaho.
Other versions featuring data from school districts in Montana, Wyoming and Washington will also be released.
Transparency doesn't mean much if it's not understandable. Parents and taxpayers may see this data and conclude their school districts need more resources. Others may see it and believe that not enough is being done to spend money in the classroom. Regardless, the community will have a broader sense of the results being achieved, and what – if any – changes need to be made.
One of Mountain States Policy Center's key recommendations is for lawmakers to adopt a Public School Transparency Act a law that would require all public school districts, both on the first page of their budget and also on the front page of the district's main website, report key financial data, including:
Amount of total dollars (all funds – local, state and federal) spent by the district that year;
Amount of total dollars spent per student, per year;
Amount and percentage of total dollars allocated to average classroom;
Average administrator salary and benefits;
Average teacher salary and benefits; and
Ratio of administrators to teachers to students.
Education leaders, including Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield, have told Mountain States Policy Center they support the concept of a Public School Transparency Act.
'It's a positive for our schools if the communities they serve understand how tax dollars are being spent,' Critchfield said. 'Let's face it, school budgets tend to be complex and this is a step that helps simplify the way they're communicated publicly.'
MSPC's Public School Transparency Index can be found online here.
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