The most important tool, however, is your persistence. Don’t let the rude person on the phone intimidate you into giving up on a request. It’s their job to give us information, and it’s our right to know.

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Kristinpedia, here. Now, I’ve been working with wikis for three years and I know a thing or two about them. I like to think of wikis as a place where neat freaks go to organize it into nice, clean, user-friendly piles of facts. But this is a love of usability and organization. Think tanks, on the other hand, have a love of just information and its revelations. So, how to make wikis work for think tanks? Here are some quick tips:

• Do not go a wiki trying to push an agenda or the final argument of your policy paper
• Always look for the bid picture. Only after that is addressed should you discuss nitty gritty bits of information. For instance, if you would like to discuss the recent two percent increase in school vouchers in your state and its impact on education. You would first have to create an article detailing school choice in your state. Next you would create a section talking about school vouchers. Only after all this was completed would it be appropriate to add the specific details of the voucher increase.
• Encourage those involved with your think tank to contribute to the wikis. Whether it be interns, those on your e-blast list or even donors. Wikis are a platform that allow anyone to edit. You may be surprised at what can come out of the woodwork.
• It is often better to incorporate your material in an existing wiki, like , , , or . It is a lot less work and maintenance for you or your organization. Plus there is always a chance that others have done all the foundational work for an article, allowing you to just add that bit about school vouchers.

These are just a few tips. We continue to see think tanks take a fresh approach to how they can incorporate wikis into their organization. An excellent example of this is who based their on the Sunshine Review’s transparency checklist for Oklahoma school districts.

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The label “taxpayer-funded lobbying” means what it sounds like: government entities use public money to fund their advocacy efforts.

But sometimes, it’s more subtle.

For example, a city could become a member of the , or other taxpayer-funded lobbying associations. Throught membership in such groups, cities and other government entities receive advocacy before legislatures. These groups lobby for varying items. A few examples include:
* The Texas Association of School Boards .
* The Arizona League of Cities and Towns wants ,
* The Wisconsin Counties Association supports .
* The Florida Cities Association supports the in Florida.

This is all lobbying that is paid for by taxpayers. That’s right: you and I pay to oppose vouchers.

Another subtlety of government funded lobbying comes with legislative receptions. One way of influencing law makers is through legislative receptions. The Indian River School District, for example, hosts a .

There’s not a lot of information on taxpayer-funded lobbying out there, and there are problems with the . So join us on our quest to get more information on , or read up on .

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discount lipitorThe government transparency website, Sunshine Review (), a project of the Sam Adams Alliance, has completed transparency evaluations for all seventy-four school districts in the Sunshine State.

Each district website was measured against a that evaluates the online accessibility of budgets, meetings, elected and administrative officials, academics, background checks, audits, contracts, public records and taxes.

The evaluations were completed in conjunction with Sunshine Review’s project, which is currently underway. , , , and County were the only school districts to earn an “A.” Twenty-two schools, however, received failing marks, leaving the state with a “D” average.

“Parents have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent to educate their kids,” said Kristin McMurray, managing editor of Sunshine Review. “When schools are open and honest with mom and dad by making basic information accessible online, the children win.”

During the evaluation process, the Sunshine Review community learned that only six school districts disclose tax information online. Less than half the school districts publish their budgets as well as information regarding contracts and background checks. Thirty-eight school districts post information about academic performance.

“The Sunshine Review community understands that it’s hard for busy moms and dads to stay on top of their kid’s education.” McMurray said. “Easily accessible information online is a simple solution that benefits, students, parents and educators.”

Sunshine Review encourages parents and taxpayers throughout Florida to visit and see how open and honest your is. Members of the press can to access an electronic press kit and learn more about the project by visiting .

Contacts:

Kristin McMurray, Managing Editor

Sunshine Review

312-920-0080 ext. 311

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When Sunshine Review began poking around , I have to admit that I expected the Sunshine State to be well…sunny. Like a Sunny D commercial with a bobbing sun in time with a transparency jingle. That kind of happy.

Instead we found a state that is bursting at its seams with education gluttony. A snapshot of Florida’s education system is huge budget shortfalls, wildly ranging school district sizes and teachers fearing for their jobs. This fear is being focused towards Florida’s school choice program, which teachers say are stealing money from the public schools. Many districts, like, have placed a legislative priority to wipe out school choice programs. Parents have to be aware there is more going on than and school supplies. Get the whole picture by going back to school on your state.