Seattle School Board Meetings - Should There Be An In-Person Option?

 Several commenters have stated - and I agree - that the Board should have had in-person meetings for the permanent superintendent discussion as well as their regular Board meetings being in-person. 

I did check Governor Inslee's proclamation ( see end of page). 

It's a bit confusing because saying there no longer needs to be an indoor mask requirement seems like it would then generate a statement that local governments can conduct meetings in-person. But, apparently, no; there HAS to be a remote meeting but in-person could be also happen. Local governments can't have only in-person.

The Board sure could have an optional in-person component. They did for a bit and then went back to remote. The JSCEE auditorium certainly could have spaced seating. And, of course, anyone who wants to wear a mask can do so (Director Michelle Sarju even wears a mask for remote meetings as she is sitting at home). 

But it feels like they don't want to have to leave home and drive to JSCEE. But given how they have cut back on discussions at the Board meetings, why not have an in-person option? 

Having an in-person option would mean looking members of the public in the face. Not this Board. 

Of course, this begs the question of whether Board members will EVER have in-person community meetings. But that takes time and effort and well, it just doesn't seem like most Board members want to do that for their regions. 


Thursday, March 3

  • We have received a number of questions about whether the upcoming changes to the face mask requirements will change how local governments conduct meetings subject to the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA). In short, no. Proclamation 20-28.14 (extended by Proclamation 20-28.15) remains in effect until specifically modified or the emergency is terminated. All meetings subject to the OPMA are required to be a remote meeting with an optional in-person component. Agencies choosing to hold hybrid meetings must make sure there is sufficient space for everyone that wants to physically attend (including overflow space if necessary) and must comply with any other health directives (including local health orders) in effect.

Monday, February 28

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested.  It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio.  (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Read more

Breaking It Down: Where the District Might Close Schools

Update 2: an absolutely fabulous interactive map made by parent Beth Day (@thebethocracy on Twitter - she covers Board meetings and is fun to read).   end of update    Update 1: Mea culpa, I did indeed get Decatur and Thornton Creek mixed up. Thanks to all for the correction. end of update   I suspect some who read this post will be irate. Why do this? Because the district seems very hellbent on this effort with no oversight skid marks from the Board.    To clearly state - I do not believe that closing 20 schools is a good idea. I think they hit on 20 because they thought it might bring in the most savings. But the jury is still out on the savings because the district has not shown its work nor its data. I suspect closing schools and THEN leasing/renting them is the big plan but that means the district really has to keep the buildings up.   But this district, with its happy talk about "well-resourced schools" is NOT acknowledging the pain and yes, gr...
Read more

Education News Roundup

From the ever-amusing Washington Policy Center : Vouchers are Pell Grants for students under 18.  Vouchers are no different than Pell Grants or GI benefits, except the money goes to the families of students younger than age 18.  Except they are. Pell Grants were created to help needy students and that's not really the goal of the voucher program.  The Pell grant website does have a couple of great studies on why low-income students drop out before finishing their higher ed and what makes a difference.
Read more