School District 72 is considering using video at future board meetings.
The subject was raised at the Dec. 18 board of education meeting, and while the idea is on the table, there was not a lot of enthusiasm for it. Superintendent Jeremy Morrow said he added the matter to the agenda after a parent raised the issue.
Some local governments, like the City of Campbell River, do use video broadcasts, while others like the Strathcona Regional District do not.
READ MORE: Council meetings a mouse click away
Trustee Daryl Hagen summed up the dilemma for the board: while he liked the idea of offering more ways for people to stay in touch with board business, he questioned how much it would used by the public.
“It would be interesting, but I’m not sure anyone would watch,” he said.
While trustee John Kerr agreed that many discussions might not be of interest to a wide audience, he cited a some issues in recent years where people might have tuned in to a broadcast.
“I can think of a couple of hot issues in the last term of this board,” he said, referring to the controversy around the SOGI 123 resource package from the Ministry of Education and the board’s decision to close a couple of schools.
Board members did express some concern about adding more responsibilities for staff as well as what the service might cost.
At one point, trustee Susan Wilson suggesting tabling the idea to give the board a chance to consider the idea at a different time.
Kerr said he preferred to leave the issue to the discretion of district staff rather than table the matter, although he did not view it as a major priority at this time.
“I think it’s a good idea,” he said, “but we’ve got a lot going on now…. This to me is not a high priority.”
At one point, after chair Richard Franklin asked whether anyone was prepared to make a motion to move ahead on a plan to broadcast meetings, it looked the matter might end there.
Kerr made a motion to ask staff to look at some of the logistical questions behind broadcasting the meetings but only when time and resources permit them to bring forward a report. The motion passed with Wilson abstaining and Hagen voting in opposition.
