Potomac News: Teacher salaries and public records
Teacher salaries and public record
Published: March 17, 2008
http://www.insidenova.com/isn/news/opinion/article/teacher_salaries_and_public_record/5447/
One of the Prince William County school system’s main budget complaints in this and past years has been that teacher’s salaries are not competitive with surrounding jurisdictions.
In an effort to report thoroughly and to provide taxpayers with the tools they need to evaluate this claim, we posted a database of salaries online. We did not create the database; it is available at the school board office because it is a public record.
We think the evidence available on the database gives merit to the school system’s complaint. Higher salaries are needed to keep the county competitive.
Nothing gives so clear a picture of this than looking at the proof for yourself on a computer screen.
Many people have commented favorably while many others believe our actions are irresponsible and an invasion of privacy.
One of the main uses of your tax dollars and mine is to pay the salaries of government workers, politicians, police, fire and rescue workers. This is also true for our dedicated teachers, who prepare the next generation for its role in society.
It is imperative that records of government spending, including taxpayer-funded salaries, be open to the public.
When evaluating how much money is being spent by government and on what, the picture would be incomplete if salaries were not taken into account. And the more detailed the information, the better.
This database was as detailed as we could get.
Our efforts to provide easy access to this public record has caused some people to also question our support of the schools.
As a company, our backing of the local school district takes many forms -- we are contributing members of the Prince William Schools Educational Foundation; we sponsor the annual regional spelling bee; we work with other local businesses to provide newspapers to schools and we support the Prince William County Chamber of Commerce’s scholarship program for local high school students.
As newspapers, we report, photograph and publish countless schools-related feature, sports and news articles.
The county’s future is our future and we support it in its effort to make sure that its community members are well educated.
Part of the way we do that is to shine a spotlight on how the school system spends its money.
Our intention was to provide you -- the reader, the taxpayer -- with the information to which you are entitled about the people you employ.
-- Tomorrow: The fairness issue.
Published: March 17, 2008
http://www.insidenova.com/isn/news/opinion/article/teacher_salaries_and_public_record/5447/
One of the Prince William County school system’s main budget complaints in this and past years has been that teacher’s salaries are not competitive with surrounding jurisdictions.
In an effort to report thoroughly and to provide taxpayers with the tools they need to evaluate this claim, we posted a database of salaries online. We did not create the database; it is available at the school board office because it is a public record.
We think the evidence available on the database gives merit to the school system’s complaint. Higher salaries are needed to keep the county competitive.
Nothing gives so clear a picture of this than looking at the proof for yourself on a computer screen.
Many people have commented favorably while many others believe our actions are irresponsible and an invasion of privacy.
One of the main uses of your tax dollars and mine is to pay the salaries of government workers, politicians, police, fire and rescue workers. This is also true for our dedicated teachers, who prepare the next generation for its role in society.
It is imperative that records of government spending, including taxpayer-funded salaries, be open to the public.
When evaluating how much money is being spent by government and on what, the picture would be incomplete if salaries were not taken into account. And the more detailed the information, the better.
This database was as detailed as we could get.
Our efforts to provide easy access to this public record has caused some people to also question our support of the schools.
As a company, our backing of the local school district takes many forms -- we are contributing members of the Prince William Schools Educational Foundation; we sponsor the annual regional spelling bee; we work with other local businesses to provide newspapers to schools and we support the Prince William County Chamber of Commerce’s scholarship program for local high school students.
As newspapers, we report, photograph and publish countless schools-related feature, sports and news articles.
The county’s future is our future and we support it in its effort to make sure that its community members are well educated.
Part of the way we do that is to shine a spotlight on how the school system spends its money.
Our intention was to provide you -- the reader, the taxpayer -- with the information to which you are entitled about the people you employ.
-- Tomorrow: The fairness issue.
