Last week's airing of the fact that $25 million remains on the School District 43's books as unfunded liability for employee future benefits is a rare bit of transparency dealing with the inner workings of the district's finances.
Whether you agree that funds should be set aside to cover future medical and pension payments or just just current needs, as has mostly been the case, the board has little choice other than to set aside the funds and remove the liability, according to generally accepted accounting principles.
By bringing the issue up in a public forum, SD43 staff reminded trustees about the obligation, sparking a discussion and even a decision, albeit one that will likely be further discussed at a finance meeting not open to the public — although there's no legal reason for them to hold such discussions behind closed doors.
In 2007 when The Tri-City News first raised the issue, the board's response was "we'll deal with it" — and nothing more was said in public, even though SD43's financial statements record the liability.
More transparency on these issues is necessary if trustees want to fulfill their election promises and be taken seriously as stewards of SD43 finances.
