[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: Little Things Mean a Lot

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
Little Things Mean a Lot
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1221798217.shtml


   It's been a long day, what with nearly six hours of civic meetings
   before and after a busy work day. My last stop was the Robbinsdale
   School District's second Financial Advisory Commission meeting. You
   may recall I had applied for this, helped create it in fact, but there
   I am in the Peanut Gallery.
   I'm pleased to report that the group had a bit more energy this
   evening. I was a bit concerned at the first meeting because everyone
   seemed so quiet. They got their first real introduction to school
   finance as practiced by our esteemed Legislators, and I heard some
   good questions raised, one in particular.
   Actually, it was more of a comment, that there were too many digits
   flying around. Amen. For example, from a PowerPoint slide on the
   proposed 2008 Operating Levy, levy history was presented like this:
     * 2003 $39,678,190 15.43%
     * 2004 $39,805,060 .32%
     * 2005 $42,605,359 7.04%

   Put (in millions) at the top and print this instead:
     * 2003 $39.7 +15%
     * 2004 $39.8 0%
     * 2005 $42.6 +7%

   It's much easier to read without all those extra insignificant digits,
   much like a corporate shareholder annual report. The extra digits,
   however accurate, add nothing to the presentation. Nobody is going to
   write a check or file a state document using these rounded numbers.
   The next meeting is scheduled for November 13th.