08/18/2021
Here is the letter that I sent to the school board chair in regards to the 8/16/21 meeting
Dear Whitney,
It was great to see everyone Monday night back in person as we get ready to kick off another school year. The energy by the administration and the Board was awesome as we look forward to getting our kids back in school – where they will be best served by the teachers and the staff.
As I reflect on a few topics from Monday night, I wanted to circle back regarding some lingering questions and concerns. As I think about the discussion and approval of the remote meeting policy, BED, I am struck by two things. First, I appreciate that the board followed BEDD (conduct of board meetings of procedural rules) in regards to the “suspension of procedural rules” to pass the policy BED (remote participation in school board meetings) in one night. I will admit that I was surprised that all 5 members present unanimously agreed to bypass the usual process without any questions or comments. I am curious as to the urgency of getting this particular policy approved in one meeting and not letting it carry over to the second month for the second reading. I am concerned about the precedent this sets for us as we think about future policies. Are we setting the stage for people expecting that the board will always bypass the traditional steps? Additionally, there was so little comment or conversation about the urgent need to get this approved Monday night, it gives the appearance that the members were expecting this action. These conversations are supposed to occur in the public. It also did not follow the tone/tempo set by the administration about COVID. As we consider what we learned last year, didn’t we hear that the public is craving information and transparency? I would ask that when there is a deviation from procedural rules there is more of a reasoning as to the need versus to suspend it out of convenience to the board.
The other thing that has me concerned is the policy itself – if I understand the policy correctly there will only be a remote meeting when a Board member requests it. Why wouldn’t we want a policy in which we always have a remote option? Again, in the interest of information, transparency and inclusion, wouldn’t we want an option that includes as many people as possible. What about the family with childcare challenges or a single parent or a parent who happens to be traveling on the night of a meeting or a person who is ill/in quarantine? One silver lining of COVID is everything we have learned about our ability to leverage technology. It sounds like the funds and interest are available to set up a space that would accommodate remote meetings for school board use as well as many other functions. I would ask the board to propose an amendment to the BED policy that calls for there to always be a remote option for a Board Member and the public alike.
Best regards,
Bill
