Schools

School Board Mulling Putting Audio Recordings Online

Board may make audio recordings available on district website

The Board of Education is mulling whether to put audio recordings of its regular meetings online, requiring the reversal of a policy put in place by the board in December giving the board discretion on whether to record meetings at all.

Newly elected board member Joseph Tonzola reported to the board at Wednesday’s meeting that the policy committee, which he heads, is exploring the idea of recording regular meetings and making those recordings available through the district’s web site.

Tonzola said schools Business Administrator Brian Smyth will contact other school systems in the county that have adopted this practice to gather feedback and best practices.

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But, Tonzola said, the current policy regarding meeting recordings would have to be changed if the district was to adopt the new system.

“The policy states right now that those recordings are for minute use only, not to be put on a public website,” Tonzola said.

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The School Business Administrator “may make an audio tape recording of the Board meetings as an administrative aid in the preparation of minutes,’’ the board’s bylaws read.

That bylaw – number 0168 -- was changed in December when the word “may’’ was substituted for the word “shall,’’ as it read in the previous version.

Some members of the public, including Manito Road resident Tom Mahedy, objected to the change, saying it gave the board too much discretion in recording the actions of the board.

Mahedy during the public comment portion of Wednesday’s meeting praised the move.

“There was a number of us who were opposed to the change from ‘will’ to ‘may’,’’ he said. “I applaud your actions toward greater transparency.’’

Tonzola said the discussions are yet preliminary.

“Personally I’m looking at cost,” Tonzola said. “I want to see what this taping system is going to cost. Secondly, we’re going to look and see how it’s been received in other districts and if those two things all fall into place, that’s a way of our board being more open.”


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