Sunshine Review, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to government transparency, released the winners of the third annual Sunny Awards. The award, which honors the most transparent government websites in the nation, went to 214 government entities with Florida receiving the most Sunny Awards.
“The Sunny Awards recognizes governments that are doing an exemplary job at proactively disclosing information to taxpayers,” said Michael Barnhart, President of Sunshine Review. “There are so many organizations and associations that highlight what is wrong with government. We at Sunshine Review are proud to acknowledge those who are doing it right and setting a transparency standard that all governments can, and should, meet.”
For the 2012 awards, Editors at Sunshine Review analyzed more than 6,000 government websites and graded each on a 10-point transparency checklist. Editors looked at content available on government websites against what should be provided. They sought information on items such as budgets, meetings, lobbying, financial audits, contracts, academic performance, public records and taxes. The winners of the Sunny Award all received an “A” grade during the extensive grading process.
Six states earned nearly half of the 214 Sunny Awards given. The leading states were Florida (28), Texas (21), Illinois (19), Virginia (14), Ohio (10) and Pennsylvania (10). In addition, ten states earned an “A” grade for their state government website including, California, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington and West Virginia. The winners also included school districts and city and county governments.
Since beginning the Sunny Awards in 2010, Sunshine Review has given 365 Sunny Awards to local and state governments. In 2011, Florida once again took home the most awards with other leading states including Texas (12), Utah (10), Illinois (7), Virginia (6) and California (5).
“The winners of the Sunny Award know that information empowers every citizen to hold government officials accountable. Sunshine Review applauds the winners of the Sunny Award and encourages every government to allocate the resources to improving their website transparency,” said Barnhart.
The Sunny Awards announcement preludes the launch of “Sunshine Week,” March 11-17, a period nationally recognized by hundreds of media and civic organizations, that celebrates the efforts of activists and the strides taken towards open government.
Sunshine Review is a nonprofit organization dedicated to state and local government transparency. Sunshine Review collaborates with individuals and organizations throughout America in the cause of an informed citizenry and a transparent government. Since its inception in 2008, Sunshine Review has analyzed the websites of all 50 states and more than 6,000 state and local entities.
The awards list is now 215, due to a site being down during the time of our rating even though they did qualify in 2012 for a Sunny Award. This site is Cobb County, Georgia. - KM
Sunny Awards
| Government Entity
|
State
|
Grade
|
| Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska |
AK |
A-
|
| Juneau, Alaska |
AK |
A-
|
| Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska |
AK |
A-
|
| Chandler, Arizona |
AZ |
A+
|
| Mesa, Arizona |
AZ |
A-
|
| Phoenix, Arizona |
AZ |
A-
|
| Pima County, Arizona |
AZ |
A-
|
| Pinal County, Arizona |
AZ |
A-
|
| Surprise, Arizona |
AZ |
A+
|
| Tucson, Arizona |
AZ |
A-
|
| Berkeley, California |
CA |
A-
|
| California state website |
CA |
A-
|
| Costa Mesa, California |
CA |
A+
|
| Los Angeles County, California |
CA |
A-
|
| Sacramento, California |
CA |
A-
|
| San Diego, California |
CA |
A-
|
| San Francisco County, California |
CA |
A-
|
| San Francisco Unified School District, California |
CA |
A-
|
| San Francisco, California |
CA |
A-
|
| Adams County, Colorado |
CO |
A+
|
| Denver County 1 School District, Colorado |
CO |
A-
|
| Douglas County, Colorado |
CO |
A+
|
| El Paso County, Colorado |
CO |
A-
|
| Jefferson County Public Schools, Colorado |
CO |
A-
|
| Mesa County Valley School District 51, Colorado |
CO |
A-
|
| Washington, D.C. website |
DC |
A-
|
| Delaware state website |
DE |
A-
|
| Wilmington, Delaware |
DE |
A-
|
| Brevard County, Florida |
FL |
A-
|
| Charlotte County Public Schools, Florida |
FL |
A-
|
| Duval County Public Schools, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Duval County, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Escambia County School District, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Highlands County, Florida |
FL |
A-
|
| Hillsborough County Public Schools, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Indian River County, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Indian River School District, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Lake County, Florida |
FL |
A-
|
| Lee County School District, Florida |
FL |
A-
|
| Lee County, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Leon County, Florida |
FL |
A-
|
| Marion County Public Schools, Florida |
FL |
A-
|
| Miami, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Oakland Park, Florida |
FL |
A-
|
| Orange County Public Schools, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Osceola County, Florida |
FL |
A-
|
| Palm Beach County School District, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Palm Beach County, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Pinellas County, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Polk County School District, Florida |
FL |
A-
|
| Sarasota County, Florida |
FL |
A-
|
| Seminole County Public Schools, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| St. Johns County School District, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| St. Johns County, Florida |
FL |
A-
|
| St. Lucie County School District, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Sumter County, Florida |
FL |
A+
|
| Cherokee County, Georgia |
GA |
A+
|
| Canton, Georgia |
GA |
A+
|
| Cobb County, Georgia |
GA |
A+
|
| Clayton County, Georgia |
GA |
A+
|
| Fulton County, Georgia |
GA |
A+
|
| Gwinnett County, Georgia |
GA |
A-
|
| Henry County, Georgia |
GA |
A+
|
| Richmond County, Georgia |
GA |
A-
|
| Rockdale County, Georgia |
GA |
A-
|
| Honolulu, Hawaii |
HI |
A-
|
| Maui County, Hawaii |
HI |
A-
|
| Johnson County, Iowa |
IA |
A-
|
| Ankeny Community School District, Iowa |
IA |
A-
|
| Scott County, Iowa |
IA |
A+
|
| Bonneville Joint School District, Idaho |
ID |
A-
|
| Pocatello-Chubbuck School District, Idaho |
ID |
A-
|
| Carbondale, Illinois |
IL |
A-
|
| Champaign County, Illinois |
IL |
A-
|
| Chicago, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| Community Consolidated School District 54, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| DuPage County, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| Illinois state website |
IL |
A-
|
| Evanston, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| Kane County, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| Lake County, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| Madison County, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| McHenry County, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| New Trier High School, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| Rockford School District 205, Illinois |
IL |
A-
|
| Springfield School District 186, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| Township High School District 211, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| Township High School District 214, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| Wheaton Warrenville Unit School District 200, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| Will County, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| Wilmette, Illinois |
IL |
A+
|
| Indiana state website |
IN |
A-
|
| Indianapolis, Indiana |
IN |
A-
|
| Marion County, Indiana |
IN |
A-
|
| Derby USD 260, Kansas |
KS |
A-
|
| Johnson County, Kansas |
KS |
A-
|
| Kansas City, Kansas |
KS |
A-
|
| Lawrence, Kansas |
KS |
A+
|
| Overland Park, Kansas |
KS |
A+
|
| Sedgwick County, Kansas |
KS |
A-
|
| Topeka, Kansas |
KS |
A-
|
| Wichita Public School District, Kansas |
KS |
A+
|
| Wyandotte County, Kansas |
KS |
A-
|
| Boone County, Kentucky |
KY |
A-
|
| Jefferson County Public Schools, Kentucky |
KY |
A-
|
| Houma, Louisiana |
LA |
A+
|
| Lafourche Parish, Louisiana |
LA |
A+
|
| St. Charles Parish, Louisiana |
LA |
A+
|
| St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana |
LA |
A-
|
| Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana |
LA |
A+
|
| Massachusetts state website |
MA |
A+
|
| Allegany County, Maryland |
MD |
A-
|
| Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Maryland |
MD |
A+
|
| Maryland state website |
MD |
A-
|
| Howard County Public Schools, Maryland |
MD |
A+
|
| Ann Arbor Public Schools, Michigan |
MI |
A-
|
| Portage, Michigan |
MI |
A+
|
| Detroit Public Schools, Michigan |
MI |
A-
|
| Kalamazoo, Michigan |
MI |
A-
|
| Lansing, Michigan |
MI |
A-
|
| Carver County, Minnesota |
MN |
A+
|
| Minneapolis Public Schools, Minnesota |
MN |
A-
|
| Clay County, Missouri |
MO |
A-
|
| St. Charles County, Missouri |
MO |
A-
|
| Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska |
NE |
A+
|
| New Jersey state website |
NJ |
A-
|
| Sussex County, New Jersey |
NJ |
A+
|
| Albuquerque Public Schools, New Mexico |
NM |
A-
|
| Albuquerque, New Mexico |
NM |
A+
|
| Bernalillo County, New Mexico |
NM |
A+
|
| Las Cruces Public Schools, New Mexico |
NM |
A-
|
| Las Cruces, New Mexico |
NM |
A+
|
| Rio Rancho, New Mexico |
NM |
A+
|
| Santa Fe County, New Mexico |
NM |
A+
|
| Santa Fe Public Schools, New Mexico |
NM |
A-
|
| Santa Fe, New Mexico |
NM |
A+
|
| Buffalo City School District, New York |
NY |
A+
|
| New York state website |
NY |
A-
|
| Rochester, New York |
NY |
A-
|
| Cincinnati, Ohio |
OH |
A+
|
| Columbus City Schools, Ohio |
OH |
A-
|
| Columbus, Ohio |
OH |
A-
|
| Dayton Public School District, Ohio |
OH |
A+
|
| Franklin County, Ohio |
OH |
A-
|
| Hamilton County, Ohio |
OH |
A-
|
| Lakota Local School District, Ohio |
OH |
A-
|
| Montgomery County, Ohio |
OH |
A-
|
| Toledo City School District, Ohio |
OH |
A+
|
| Westerville City School District, Ohio |
OH |
A+
|
| Broken Arrow, Oklahoma |
OK |
A+
|
| Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
OK |
A-
|
| Owasso, Oklahoma |
OK |
A+
|
| Tulsa County, Oklahoma |
OK |
A+
|
| Tulsa, Oklahoma |
OK |
A+
|
| Albany, Oregon |
OR |
A+
|
| Beaverton, Oregon |
OR |
A+
|
| Salem, Oregon |
OR |
A-
|
| Allegheny County, Pennsylvania |
PA |
A+
|
| Brandywine Heights Area School District, Pennsylvania |
PA |
A-
|
| Council Rock School District, Pennsylvania |
PA |
A-
|
| Pennsylvania state website |
PA |
A-
|
| New Hope-Solebury School District, Pennsylvania |
PA |
A-
|
| New Kensington-Arnold School District, Pennsylvania |
PA |
A-
|
| Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania |
PA |
A-
|
| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
PA |
A+
|
| Reading School District, Pennsylvania |
PA |
A-
|
| West Chester Area School District, Pennsylvania |
PA |
A+
|
| Aiken County, South Carolina |
SC |
A+
|
| Anderson County, South Carolina |
SC |
A+
|
| Pickens School District, South Carolina |
SC |
A+
|
| Wilson County, Tennessee |
TN |
A-
|
| Addison, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Arlington, Texas |
TX |
A+
|
| Austin, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Brazoria County, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Burleson County, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Burleson, Texas |
TX |
A+
|
| Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| El Paso County, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| El Paso, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Fort Bend Independent School District, Texas |
TX |
A+
|
| Fort Worth, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Frisco, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Houston Independent School District, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Houston, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Huntsville, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Keller, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Laredo, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Lubbock County, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| McKinney Independent School District, Texas |
TX |
A+
|
| New Braunfels, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| South San Antonio Independent School District, Texas |
TX |
A-
|
| Jordan School District, Utah |
UT |
A-
|
| Ogden City School District, Utah |
UT |
A+
|
| Riverton, Utah |
UT |
A-
|
| Salt Lake City School District, Utah |
UT |
A-
|
| Salt Lake City, Utah |
UT |
A-
|
| West Jordan, Utah |
UT |
A-
|
| Arlington Public Schools, Virginia |
VA |
A-
|
| Chesterfield County, Virginia |
VA |
A+
|
| Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia |
VA |
A+
|
| Gloucester County, Virginia |
VA |
A+
|
| Hampton City Schools, Virginia |
VA |
A+
|
| Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia |
VA |
A-
|
| Mathews County, Virginia |
VA |
A+
|
| Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia |
VA |
A+
|
| Richmond Public Schools, Virginia |
VA |
A+
|
| Richmond, Virginia |
VA |
A-
|
| Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia |
VA |
A-
|
| Virginia Beach, Virginia |
VA |
A-
|
| Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools, Virginia |
VA |
A+
|
| York County, Virginia |
VA |
A+
|
| Washington state website |
WA |
A+
|
| Wisconsin state website |
WI |
A-
|
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
WI |
A-
|
| West Virginia state website |
WV |
A-
|
Past Winners
