Dive Brief:

• Public school districts accounted for 54% of debt carried by local government in Texas in 2013, and the state comptroller decided the public should have online access to what that debt built.
• School construction valued at $14 billion, done between 2007 and 2013, is included.
• Comptroller Susan Combs got the information through public-records requests to all the school systems and set up the website as voters are being asked to vote locally on bond debt that totals $6.7 billion statewide and 92% of which would go to schools.

Dive Insight:

The comptroller's announcement of the website and an analysis of construction costs planned for later this year do not appear to have a particular political target. On the announcement, Combs is quoted as saying, “There is no legislative standard for these costs and no required reporting mechanism, so we are shining a light on this spending so you can hold your local officials accountable for it.”