With a score of 90.6%, Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 is the highest scoring school district in the history of the Illinois Policy Institute’s “Local Transparency Project.” The District received a Certificate of Achievement from IPI at the April 24 Board of Education meeting.


The Local Transparency Project grades governments on the availability to the public of vital community information, such as public meeting schedules, government employee salaries and tax rates. Since the project was launched in February 2010, more than 130 government entities have been graded.
 

As a result of this process, District 205 created a Government Transparency page, which is a "go to" site for many important documents from Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports to Board Meeting Archives and Labor Contracts. Check out the page at http://www.elmhurst205.org/transparency



“Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 has set a new standard for proactive online transparency for local school districts.” said Brian Costin, Director of Outreach at the Illinois Policy Institute. "Comprehensive online transparency is an essential tool to prevent government corruption and being efficient and accountable with taxpayer dollars. I applaud District 205’s efforts, and hope that other school districts across Illinois will take notice and strive to be accountable to their own citizens and taxpayers through online transparency.”


Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 is only the second school district in the state to achieve a 90% or better on transparency benchmarks outlined in the Institute’s “10-Point Transparency Checklist.”

“Transparency is something Elmhurst District 205 takes very seriously. We understand that public schools are simply that – public. We have an obligation to communicate the management of this district to the community that support us. To that end, we work hard to provide documentation and commentary, through our Board of Education meetings, through our website and through direct email communication with our constituents on a weekly basis,” said Superintendent Dave Pruneau. 

“We are honored to be recognized by the Illinois Policy Institute as setting a new standard for online transparency. This award is a reflection of the dedication of District 205 administration and support staff in improving our accessibility for parents and our community.”