Coal City Community Unit School District 1 earns an A for the Sunshine Award
By creating a website with easily accessible information about the district’s governance, meeting schedule, employees, budget and other functions, Coal City Community Unit School District 1 scores high marks for government transparency.
On Oct. 20, Coal City Community Unit School District 1, or CCSD, became the 75th local taxing body to earn the Illinois Policy Institute’s Sunshine Award for transparency. CCSD earned the award by scoring a 91.6 percent out of 100 possible points on the 10-Point Transparency Checklist.
As part of its Local Government Transparency Project, Illinois Policy grades government entities based on the access the public has to vital community information, such as public-meeting schedules, officials’ contact information, government-employee salaries and budget information. Democracy can function well only when citizens have access to this information. Such transparency keeps voters informed and government accountable.
CCSD created a “district” tab with links to information listed on the 10-Point Transparency Checklist. And the content on the webpage is organized for easy access to the information.
The superintendent, school board, administration and staff of CCSD have taken significant steps in making their district one that serves its community well through increased transparency and easily accessed information. Of more than 850 school districts in Illinois, CCSD is one of only 15 to have earned the Sunshine Award.
To learn more about how to make local-government entities, such as school districts, county and municipal governments, more transparent and accountable, please contact Mindy Ruckman at mruckman@illinoispolicy.org.