HARRISBURG - The salaries of employees at Pennsylvania's intermediate units and details of IU work contracts will be posted online for public inspection under legislation signed by Gov. Tom Corbett on Friday afternoon.
The IU sunshine requirements are tucked away in a school code bill that sets the formula for distributing $5.3 billion in state instruction aid to school districts and gives school districts more flexibility in hiring personnel.
The IU provisions are part of a broad-based policy change designed to bring IU disclosure standards up to the same level as school districts and not a specific reaction to a controversy over spending practices and resulting investigations at the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit, said Rep. Paul Clymer, R-145, Perkasie, chairman of the House Education Committee. "It's making information available to educate the public on what the intermediate units do," he added.
The measure requires that annual financial reports of IUs - regional education service agencies - be posted on the state Department of Education's website.
The reports will include:
- A list of employees and contractors and duties provided.
- A list of all contracts, purchase orders and agreements greater than $50,000.
Reports covering the fiscal 2009-10 and fiscal 2010-11 years will be the first posted. The IUs have until Feb. 1 to file the first report with the Education Department.
Clymer said he wants to shed more light on the contracts and fees that IUs receive for services to school districts, charter schools and private schools.
Clymer said his committee had vetted the IU disclosure issue when it approved a stand-alone bill in early March, so it made sense to insert these provisions into the school code to speed passage.
Created four decades ago, the IUs were initially associated with providing special education. But their role has broadened to include back-office support, educator training and cost savings through joint health insurance and transportation contracts.