Re: “Expense budgets queried,” Jan. 7 news story.
The Denver Post reported on the Denver Public Schools Board of Education’s expenses. As mentioned in the article, the school board passed a new spending policy in October. Every member of the board worked on and shaped the new policy for the simple reason that the previous policy did not give enough guidance to board members.
The policy in existence when I joined the board in 2009 was vague in places and it relied too heavily on the judgment of individual board members. In these hard financial times for our schools, every dollar must be spent wisely, and judgment is too subjective a guide for us to use as public officials.
Even prior to 2009, there were board members who went over their individual allocations. That was a board practice and not a policy. The development of the new policy means there will no longer be differing views or ideas about how to spend board-budgeted money.
It is important to note the Board of Education did not exceed the budget for total board member spending last fiscal year. The combined amount budgeted for member spending was $35,000 ($5,000 each for seven members), and the board as a whole came under the amount. For this reason and because the new policy is not retroactive, no board member is required to repay expenses incurred doing legitimate board business.
In addition, the policy also stipulates board member spending will be much more transparent and available to the public to see. The voters of Denver will be able to judge for themselves the appropriateness of our expenses and hold us each accountable.
The Board of Education is the body elected by the voters of Denver to govern the school district. It is our duty to meet with community members and stakeholders to make sure our decisions reflect the values and needs of our constituents. In some cities school board members are not only paid, but they have individual paid staff members and offices assigned to each member. In Denver that is not the case; we are all volunteers. Our offices are places like neighborhood coffee shops where we can meet with community members near their homes and schools. The reason we do this work is solely out of belief in and respect for public education.
Our board is often referred to as a 4-3 board, but we are one body with one joint purpose: to help the students of Denver Public Schools. All seven of us take that shared duty very seriously.
Mary Seawell is president of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education.
