On August 1, 2023, Act 370, sponsored by Louisiana State Senator Rick Edmonds (R-BR), became law. The legislation can be found here.
The Act requires school systems to report financial information to the Louisiana Department of Treasury, including contracts, with the purpose and name of each vendor, detailed expenditure data about the purchase of goods and services for instruction, instructional support, legal services, audit services, general administration costs, construction, maintenance, transportation, information technology, professional services, technical services, land acquisition, supplies, and other costs.
The information has been compiled and posted on the Louisiana K-12 School Transparency Website, which can be accessed on the Department of Treasury home page. The result is the country’s most comprehensive and transparent state educational website.
This website gives Louisiana taxpayers easy access to details regarding how public schools are spending public funds. This project aims to increase transparency in public school financial matters and community and parent involvement.
The site contains voluminous information, including over 2 million lines of data. Upon examination, some of the spending is problematic. For example, $248,151 was spent on staff retreats, and $168,752 was spent on restaurants. Several Orleans Parish public schools spent $17,563 at Dooky Chase restaurant.
Unusual expenses, such as $5,000 for fireworks and $13,663 for balloons, were also uncovered.
$166,997 was also spent on lobbying and government relations, including a $2,000 donation to Act Blue, a Democratic Party-political action committee. This expenditure was made by the Orleans Parish School Board and was listed under the category “Materials and Supplies.”
Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming said, “The Louisiana K-12 school transparency website holds our public-school officials accountable for spending your money. It will allow Louisiana’s citizens to uncover dubious public money expenditures by school districts.”
He continued, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant to fight inefficiency. The more transparency we offer the people of Louisiana, the more efficient our state government will become, which will lead to enhanced educational outcomes for our children and better pay for our teachers.”
