The Executive Board Room in the J. Alvin Wilbanks Instructional Support Center lacked its usual buzz at the Gwinnett County Board of Education monthly meeting last week. In the midst of the conronavirus pandemic, there was about a third of the usual attendees — department heads, school administrators and staff set to assist with presentations. And there were no observers because the district conducted the meeting virtually, with the two board members present sitting at computer screens. Three chose to attend from home.
This was a first for the largest school district in the state and the 10th largest in the country. Although some school systems like Atlanta Public Schools had been providing digital access to meetings for years, it had never been a priority for Gwinnett.
In conducting meetings in cyberspace, a challenge Gwinnett’s school board and others face is making sure the public has a chance to be heard.
Programs used, such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Meets, necessitate muting microphones for large groups, making it difficult to allow for public comment.
Georgia’s open meetings law governs transparency for school board meetings, but each school board decides what its policy is on public comments, and many haven’t addressed the question related to virtual board meetings.
“Public comments look different depending on what policy has been put in place, or if a policy has been put in place,” said Justin Pauly, a spokesman for the Georgia School Board Association.
The only school district responding to The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s query that has a public comment policy for virtual meetings was Hall County. It lets people submit their remarks by email up until the time designated for public comments on the agenda, when they’re read to the board. “We did this successfully at our March board of education business meeting and feel comfortable we can continue that trend moving forward,” spokesman Stan Lewis said.
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Pauly noted security is also a concern. “Taking board meetings into the virtual world requires new technology and boards must ensure it is secure. We have all seen and heard stories of unwanted guests hacking in.”
Although just about every school board in the state has attempted to conduct business in cyberspace, the level of technology available is a factor in what can be accommodated.
“This is a way of business that is not the norm for school boards. There will always be a learning curve and a transition period when new operations are required,” Pauly said.
In the age of cyber threats and government systems being held hostage, it’s important for school officials to proceed cautiously, many have said.
“The district has security concerns with allowing stakeholders to join Zoom board meetings outside of our network. Recent alerts from the FBI that meetings could be at risk while using the ZOOM platform support this decision,” said a spokeswoman for DeKalb County Schools. “We will continue to investigate options for holding secure, safe and manageable community meetings consistent with our rules. In the interim, we encourage community members to contact the board and district leadership through email.”
But some people fear that access, transparency and immediacy will be compromised if the town hall approach, allowing folks to air their issues publicly, isn’t observed.
Brian Westlake is a regular Gwinnett Board of Education meeting attendee. He was happy to see that the district had joined the 21st century with technology for a virtual meeting, but was disappointed there was no mechanism for public comment.
“If I didn’t get to hear concerns from other citizens I wouldn’t have known that bus drivers were dissatisfied with their pay or students were worried about too many standardized tests,” he said, referencing past meetings. “And this was the first time that I’d ever been able to see a work session. Scheduling it for 2 p.m. doesn’t allow for a lot of people to attend.”
For its first virtual school board meeting, Gwinnett was prepared to work out logistics for public comment, but nobody had signed up to speak by the deadline, noon on Monday before the Thursday meeting. The online audience was 163 for the work session and 250 for the business meeting.
Karen Watkins, who’s running for the District I Board of Education seat, said she wishes the board would use this opportunity to educate the public about procedures.
“Just because you live in the county and may have a child in the school system doesn’t mean you understand everything that’s going on,” she said.
The board voted to accept several state waivers related to the COVID-19 pandemic but didn’t elaborate on what the specific waivers were. “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one watching who wondered aloud what they were talking about,” she said.
With budget season fast approaching, national organizations are encouraging school boards to allow as much dialogue with constituents as possible.
“There’s a misconception that people who are not present aren’t engaged or interested,” said Francisco Negrón, chief legal officer for the National School Board Association. “It’s a challenge right now to allow access, but technology should allow for platforms where the public can view the budget, ask questions and debate issues. Transparency now is more important than ever.”
In May, Gwinnett plans to allow for online viewing of the board meetings, and in the summer to install equipment to allow livestreaming.
But there is no move planned to make any type of live online presentation a permanent part of Gwinnett school board meetings.
“While last night’s virtual board meeting was a new and interesting experience, I do not believe anyone would be “excited” about making such meetings the routine way of doing the board’s business.” said Roach. “We look forward to the day when we return to welcoming the public to the board’s meetings, in person, in the Board Room. As for a decision to stream meetings regularly, that would be something the superintendent and board would have to determine.”
Access to recorded school board meetings
Several school districts in metro Atlanta have turned to cyberspace to conduct board meetings. Many also record those meetings for public access.
Gwinnett: publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps/home/public/about/boe/content/vbm
Cobb: cobbk12.org/board/meetingonline.aspx
DeKalb: dekalbschoolsga.org/communications/dstv click on "VOD" and select month
Fulton: fultonschools.org/boardvideos
Clayton: clayton.k12.ga.us/calendar/board_meetings click on "CCPS Board Meeting Videos"
Atlanta: atlantapublicschools.us/Domain/3944 click on "Watch Board Meetings Live"
Forsyth: forsyth.k12.ga.us/page/11
Henry: schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/domain/8 click on :Virtual Board Meetings (You Tube)"
Cherokee: www.cherokeek12.net/Content2/2019-20-school-board-meetings the first recorded meeting is April 16, 2020
Paulding: paulding.k12.ga.us/Page/331 click on "Board Meetings Online"
Hall: youtube.com/user/HallCountySchools
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