Do They Know What Transparency Means?

They keep using that word.

Transparency.

But we do not think it means what they think it means.

On August 22nd, during the PSD Board of Education meeting, Director DJ Anderson stated, “…we believe in being transparent…” and then requested the board’s approval of state legislative action designed to…wait for it…LIMIT transparency.

Huh. Let's make sure we understand. To clearly demonstrate PSD’s adoration of transparency, district leaders decided to collude with their legislative allies to prevent people from seeing what they are doing? Truly they have a dizzying intellect.

The Colorado legislature adopted the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) in 1968 powerfully declaring that in Colorado, “…all public records shall be open for inspection by any person at reasonable times.” The general idea is that public entities operating with public funds (read your tax dollars) must provide for open inspection of all public records with narrowly construed exceptions. CORA provides protection for the little guy to ensure he is not taken advantage of by powerful bureaucrats. The reasonable principle is, if a public entity is doing something that you fund or that can affect your life, you have a right to know about it. Seems fair.

Standing firm in their commitment to transparency, the PSD BoE boldly and unanimously approved the records access restriction without so much as a whisper. No discussion. No questions. Just a unanimous vote to demonstrate their love of transparency by locking it up safe and sound, away from the prying eyes of their annoyingly curious constituents.

Who Wins and Who Loses?

When transparency is limited, the lives of public bureaucrats are made easier at the expense of the most vulnerable members of our community. Recently, the communities at PSD schools Olander Elementary, Polaris, Centennial High School, and Poudre Community Academy were shocked to learn the district's Superintendent and Board of Education had decided on plans to drastically change the physical, educational, and cultural natures of their schools. The district's disregard for transparency was a kick in the teeth to some of the district's most vulnerable students and their families, leaving many of them feeling ignored, confused, and unimportant.

One of the legislative recommendations approved by PSD is a request to increase fees that a public entity may charge an individual requesting the public record. Current CORA law states that entities can charge $30 an hour for any staff time spent providing the open records; citizens cannot be charged for requests taking less than an hour to process. Does PSD think low-income citizens should not have equitable access to public records? Why would they advocate for making something more expensive for our most vulnerable citizens? The minimum wage in Colorado is currently $13.65 an hour, which means that someone would have to work for over three hours to simply afford an hour of open records access at the current rate. And PSD wants to make it even more expensive for them.

PSD also voted to favor "legitimate media outlets" over ordinary citizens regarding access to public records. Should we be concerned about who determines the definition of "legitimate" in this case? Could this limitation and vague definition possibly be unjustly used by political actors of any political party that happens to be in power? Maybe you aren't concerned about it if your favorite political team is in control, but would you be just as excited about the possibility if a party with whom you adamantly disagreed was steering the ship? Would you want your access limited? It is important to evaluate all the angles.

What Questions Should Be Asked?

Citizens of all political persuasions would be wise to be concerned when public officials start using their political power to curtail public access to their work. Communities fare better when decisions are made in full view of those affected; elected bureaucrats making decisions behind the backs of the public can harm the least powerful members of the communities. Just ask all those families hurt by PSD's sudden school consolidation announcement.

• PSD directors are responsible for nearly half a billion dollars entrusted to them by their fellow citizens. Isn't it reasonable that families sending their hard-earned money to the schools deserve full access to how the funds are used?

• Are there any ways limiting access to public information could go wrong?

• What are the logical limits to records access limitations? Are there any or could the restrictions for which PSD is advocating lead to even more restrictions in the future?

We are left wondering if the PSD Board of Education actually believes in being transparent with the public. Their words do not seem to match their actions.

Or maybe PSD thinks transparency means what it does not actually mean.