Government bodies have to hold meetings to get business done. And unlike the private sector, public access is required. Instead of relying on technology to provide access to its regular March meeting, the Gwinnett County Public Schools Board of Education didn’t change much at all.
The workshop was an hour later, and the main meeting took place in the executive board room instead of the large auditorium. The audience was considerably smaller as there were no board recognitions and the number of staff attending was limited to division heads. Reports originally scheduled to be presented by other staff members were moved to subsequent board meetings.
The biggest change was that two board members weren’t physically present.
Everton Blair and Mary Kay Murphy phoned into the meeting.
No reason was given for their absence, but Blair had indicated through social media that he was concerned that the board was ignoring a global pandemic by holding the meeting in person instead of using technology that is readily available to anyone with a cellphone.
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“Despite my repeated attempts to switch to a virtual-only format, Gwinnett County Public Schools will still conduct its Board Meeting tomorrow, in-person. I won’t be physically present and instead have asked to be virtually connected in case I happen to be an asymptomatic vector at my young age,” he posted on Facebook. “I’ve additionally asked for us to utilize virtual technology to livestream, to more closely adhere to CDC guidelines, to clarify communication regarding which employees can work from home, to continue digital learning days and meal distribution.”
When asked why the largest school district in the state didn’t conduct its regular meeting in cyberspace given the dangers surrounding the coronavirus, The Atlanta Journal Constitution was given this response from district spokeswoman Sloan Roach.
“At this time, the Gwinnett County Board of Education has not taken action to stream its meetings.”
There was no further explanation or discussion.
Elaine Baldwin, a Gwinnett parent and regular board meeting attendee, was incensed. “There’s no way that they don’t have the technology,” she said. “They’ve won Emmys. They’ve produced all kinds of videos and events. I’d wager that my high schooler could livestream the meeting if I asked him to.”
Atlanta Public Schools, the sixth largest school district in the state, has been livestreaming school board meetings for years. And in January it began adding the public comment period to those sessions.
Of the seven largest school districts in the state, Gwinnett County is the only one that neither shows the board sessions live nor records them.
“It’s unfathomable to me that, amid a global pandemic, where we have asked most employees to utilize available technology to work virtually, that we are not following our own mandate,” said Blair via text. “It’s not that hard to conduct video board meetings via video conference or livestream in 2020.”
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