Special Called Meeting - waste and disrespect

Last night the Richland 2 School Board held a Special Called Board Meeting. The scheduled starting time was 5:30PM, and the Agenda showed that the Board would immediately go into Executive (closed) Session. And that's what they did.

But first a word about the room set-up. Apparently the board expected little or no turn-out from an audience, and they had the "wagons circled", effectively shutting out the public. The tables were set up in a U-shape, with the board and superintendent at the top and staff seated along both sides. And a podium set up at the open end of the U.

At 5:30PM a row of chairs was lined up along one wall. Along the other wall? Enough food to feed a lot of people. The district apparently treats the board to dinner, in exchange for showing up at a Special Called Meeting. A few of the board members helped themselves to food before leaving the room for the Executive Session. At least some of the food may have been catered by McCallister's.

There were about 20 District 200 staff members in attendance at 5:30PM. Few of them ate, and they all cooled their heels until the board finally returned about 6:43PM. Assuming these staff members are paid over-time or receive compensatory time-off for this after-hours duty, their waiting time is totally wasted, just waiting for the board to return.

Staffers should be asked to show up by the time when they are actually needed. This is certainly no sooner than the beginning of the public (open) session after the Executive Session; it could even be 10-30 minutes after the open session begins, because other agenda items precede staff reports.

The meeting agenda is created by the Board Chair and the Superintendent. Did they just overlook establishing the starting time of the open session? Did they expect that the main item in the Executive Session (pertaining to the superintendent) might take only 5-10 minutes?

The Board demonstrated great disrespect for the public and for the staffers who had nothing to do for an hour and ten minutes.

Just before the open session began, additional chairs were set up at the back of the room, and shortly about eight teachers showed up. They got the premier seating, where they might have had a better chance of hearing what was said during the meeting. When the open session began, there was no mention of any Executive Sessions items needing a vote.

A noteworthy item missing from the Special Called Meeting was the Pledge of Allegiance. Why is a Special-Called Meeting different from a Regular Meeting? It should be in every way just the same as a Regular Meeting, as the Board is the official governing body of the District, including a Public Participation segment.

And a regular feature of a Special Called Meeting seems to be food. Maybe the district should allow anyone present to partake of the refreshments. It appeared that a good amount of the food was going to left over. What would happen if the public just walked over and helped themselves to the left-over food?

Better yet, why is the food set up in the public meeting room or served at all? Board members are paid well for attending meetings. They could eat before arriving.