Sunday, March 05, 2006

Letter to the editor: open access to government

To the editors,

The editorial of February 28 (“Bill bolsters public oversight of government”) may have left an incorrect impression in the public’s mind of my opinion on open access to government. I strongly support the proposed legislation; in fact, then-Vice President Jana Ley and I led the Board of Education to begin its current practice of audiotaping executive sessions. This is only one small aspect of open access that I support. During my tenure as President, the Board engaged and informed the community in many new ways:

• We began posting agendas and approved minutes on the PSD website
• We actively sought community input as we searched for and hired Superintendent Wilson
• We required staff to seek a wide variety of public input about topics such as late start and District enrollment issues

I have also started a weblog at http://psd-district-b.blogspot.com where I can respond to community questions and provide additional perspective on my thoughts on public education in Poudre School District.

I look forward to further public dialog and accountability in the remainder of my final term on the Board.

Ross Cunniff
Director, District B
Poudre School District Board of Education