Jul. 7--OOPS -- wrong e-mail address.

An announcement by Milwaukee Public Schools officials that they were posting online every invoice the system has paid in recent years drew praise even from a frequent critic, the CRG Network, a taxpayer group that had done almost the exact same thing months ago.

But the MPS news release gave the wrong e-mail address to use if you're looking for help in using the database. In fact, it was the word help that was omitted.

The correct e-mail address is: mpsspendinghelp@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.

The Web address of the database itself is: mpsspending.milwaukee.k12.wi.us.

CRG recognized that MPS became the first local government unit to post invoices, with the intention of continuously updating the data. CRG has done similar databases with several other government units.

Chris Kliesmet, a leader of the organization, said in a statement: "We are pleased that MPS followed our lead and did so in such an expeditious manner. It demonstrates they took the public outrage over spending seriously and have made this groundbreaking commitment to spending transparency. We hope the combined efforts of CRG Network and MPS will set an example for all units of government to commit to applying innovation and technology to improve spending transparency. It really is just this easy!"

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