Garden Grove Unified School District officials are expected to consider video streaming their board meetings after parents raised transparency and access concerns at recent meetings.
The school district – home to 38,560 students – is currently one of the biggest in Orange County that does not video stream their meetings.
The expected discussion comes after parents like Nicole Jaimes raised questions regarding a board meeting policy that limits public comments and the lack of video accessibility during and after board deliberations.
“It shouldn’t be too hard to add a camera and film everything and put it on YouTube,” Jaimes said at the April meeting.
Abby Broyles, a spokeswoman for the district, said in an email that board trustees will look into filming meetings.
“The Board has been investigating further the topic of video recording board meetings, and that topic will be added to a future Study Session,” Broyles said.
Currently, Garden Grove Unified only provides audio recordings on its website, after meetings have occurred.
Other districts in Orange County such as Capistrano Unified, Santa Ana Unified, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified, Orange Unified and Anaheim Union High School district offer live stream or video access to Board meetings.
An investigation by Chapman University students and Voice of OC last year ranked six local school districts – including Saddleback Valley Unified and Huntington Beach City School District – with a failing grade when it comes to accessing school board meetings online
Garden Grove Unified received a B grade for posting their audio recordings online.
[Read: How Easy is it to Tune Into Your School Board Meeting?]
Garden Grove Unified School District officials are not the only ones looking at video streaming meetings.
Orange County transit leaders are also looking at video streaming their public meetings after an investigation by Chapman University students and Voice of OC earlier this year gave them a failing grade when it came to online meeting accessibility.
[Read: Making it Easy to Watch Local Government From Home]
David Loy, Legal Director of First Amendment Coalition said Zoom or video access is crucial for fairness and openness.
“It is the best practice to provide remote access because it increases transparency and opportunities to participate and observe for people who cannot be there in person,” Loy said during a phone interview.
Limiting Public Comments
Parents and teachers also voiced concerns over the number of people who could make comments during meetings.
“It’s not a privilege for us to speak to you; it’s a privilege for you to listen to us,” Jaimes said at the April meeting.
Garden Grove Unified currently has a maximum limit of five speakers or 15 minutes of public comment per topic, according to board policy.
“That is not in keeping with improving civic engagement of hearing from the public, the teachers, students, and staff,” teacher Nicolas Dibs said at the Apr. 2 meeting.
When an item has more than five public comment cards with two major viewpoints, the Board President may select alternating speakers to represent both perspectives — five per side — according to the board policy.
During the March meeting, where many public comments were dedicated to discussing concerns regarding the administration at Bolsa Grande High School, teacher Donny Terranova used his time to call out the board’s handling of public comments.
“I have a speech right here. It’s irrelevant because all the stakeholders are outside. There are 100 stakeholders outside, and none of them are in here,” Terranova said. “It’s shameful.”
Dibs, who disapproves of the policy, called for board members to amend Board Policy 8120 to allow for more speakers. He added that many members of the public at the March meeting wanted to speak but were not given the opportunity.
“This issue is one of ethics and fairness,” he said at the March meeting. “Five is a restriction that should not be there.
According to Loy, the general public has the right to public comment under the Brown Act – the state’s open meeting law – but there can be reasonable regulations, such as time limits.
Other school districts have similar regulations for board meetings. Los Angeles Unified School District also caps the number of speakers at five.
Broyles stated that limiting speakers is common practice across Districts and that there are opportunities outside of meetings for the public to communicate with the Board.
“Members of the public are also welcome to email the board in writing to express their viewpoints,” Broyles said.
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