Why Don't People Attend BOE Meetings?

One of the questions that emerged in the 2014 school board race is why so few people attend board meetings.

A few years ago, not only would there be a reporter in attendance, there might be two or three bloggers as well. Since then, newspapers have sharply reduced staffing and there is no longer routine coverage of public meetings, including school board meetings. Another factor is the format in which a board meeting opens and the board goes into closed session for an unspecified period. There were times when reporters and bloggers had to wait several hours for board votes in public session.

Add to this mix the somewhat frequent conflict of meeting dates, so that a reporter or blogger would have to choose between a council meeting and a school board meeting.

All this does not fully explain the lack of public interest, although advance articles by reporters or bloggers once alerted the public to important items coming up for a vote. Candidates mentioned other factors, such as single parents or both working parents who have to put household obligations before attendance at meetings. The pace of  meetings is probably the biggest overall turnoff, with long waits for closed sessions to end, presentations and performances before board business and seemingly interminable public comment on special situations that might be better resolved in other ways. I recall instances of principals, who think they are about to be fired or relocated, bringing large numbers of parents and students to testify on why the principal should stay.

A lot of board business is routine and not newsworthy, such as approval of field trips, transportation contracts, professional development for staff, lunchroom assignments and curriculum updates. The public tends to be more interested in district leadership, union matters and issues affecting spending. But when Anna Belin-Pyles was appointed as superintendent in June 2012, there was no coverage. The public does not know why union members are without a contract. Plaintalker did report on a shift in the state aid formula, but did not follow up in subsequent years.

Ideally, interested citizens would check the agenda before a board meeting and attend to ask questions or see the outcome, whether or not the media published previews or reports. Meetings are usually on Tuesdays and the 2014-2015 calendar is posted on the district web site.

For a while, the meetings were recorded and posted on local cable channels. But given the erratic timing and length of meetings sometimes, it is probably too expensive and difficult to assign anyone to tape them.

The district does have an informative web site and a newsletter to serve its 7,500 students and their families. Parents may already be taking part in PTOs, attending sports events and school performances and volunteering in the schools, so maybe attending board meetings is just too much more, especially if meetings are prolonged and, as some candidates alleged, frustrating to members of the public with questions.

Communication is a stated goal in the 2014-2015 Budget Presentation. If it is seen as lacking by board candidates, those who win the election can work with the other six board members to improve it. Meanwhile, public attendance at board meetings may continue to be a tough sell if the conditions mentioned above prevail.

--Bernice