School board members John de Beck and Mitz Lee have called for a new Budget Committee at the San Diego Unified School District to oversee the way the school system spends its money.
Here is what they said about it in a press release:
Such a budget-format change will make the budget process open and transparent, and will give citizens a clearer understanding of the nuts and bolts of spending on public education in our community. The Budget Committee will be an appointed committee of the Board of Education and subject to open meeting regulations. The members will establish a budget timeline, and a process for public hearings on budgetary matters.
Their announcement has come after the district faced criticism over the lack of transparency of its budget. Board members initially rejected the proposed spending plan last month over the same concerns.
More from the press release:
Over the years, citizen groups and community watchdogs, such as the League of Women Voters, and Taxpayers’ Association, and other fiscal watchdogs have criticized the opacity of public agencies’ budgets and the difficulty that taxpayers and elected officials alike have in deconstructing them. School Board members have decided that now is the right time to reform their own budget format and development process.
The board will consider the proposal at its Aug. 7 board meeting.