Through my own research, I found recommendations for information that should be included on a school district's website at Sunshine Review and Illinois Loop. As a result of the recommendations, and my own information needs, this past summer I requested that additional information be made available on VVSD's website.
According to Sunshine Review, access to this information allows school district residents, parents, teachers, students or taxpayers to determine if your school district is:
- Effective.
- Competent.
- Frugal with tax revenues.
- Honest.
- In compliance with all expectations and relevant laws about public records and open meetings.
The following list is not meant to be exhaustive. The district includes much more information on its website than what is listed here.
Budget
An incomplete amount of financial information was available on the old website and some of the links were broken. This information has been updated and is found here.
Additional recommendations from Sunshine Review:
- Include graphics to enable people to make sense of trends over time. (According to the district, Tech Services is in the process of creating it and will post it.)
- Include narrative feature explaining trends. (According to the district, this is also in the process of being done.)
Board Policies were not available on the old website. These policies are now found here.
- Abbreviated version of board policies are distributed at the beginning of each school year in the form of the student handbook. Board policies are also available at the Administration Center and the public libraries.
- However, board policies are continually being updated and brought before the board for approval. Updated board policies accessible on-line are more timely, relevant and actionable.
School board meetings, agendas and minutes were already available on the old website and are found here.
Board members and their associated liaison committees were not updated on the old website. The updated information is found here.
Who Are the Members of the School Board?
School board member bios were not previously included on the old website. Members and their bios are found here.
Who Are the District Administrators?
District administrators were already available on the old website and are found here.
Lobbying, Advocacy and Consulting Contracts
According to the district, the district does not belong to any taxpayer-funded lobbying associations and does not have any educational consulting contracts.
Access to Government Records and Public Documents
The procedure to access public documents was not available on the old website. The procedure is now found here.
Contracts with Teachers and Support Staff
Employee contracts were not available on the old website. The contracts are now found here.
Contracts with Vendors
Vendor contracts between $10,000 and $25,000 were not available on the old website. The contracts are now found here.
Tax Burden
Tax levy presentation(s) were available on the old website and are found here.
Criminal Background Check Procedure
According to the district, this information is listed in the board policies.
Teacher Workshops and In-Service Programs
According to the district, posting this information would take up too much server space and slow down the district's website speed.
Academic Performance
State report cards were available on the old website and are found here.