April 21 Special Meeting Livestream - Grade? D-

Richland 2 School Board needs a class in Livestream. And an instruction that the board meeting by Livestream should be conducted exactly like a face-to-face board meeting. In other words, dress for business!

What went right?

The meeting started. Late, but it started.

What went wrong?

The Chair called for the first Motion of the meeting, and NO ONE promptly responded. It's pitiful how they all wait for someone else to do it. You'd think they were being asked to throw the switch to drop the guillotine. Why didn't the Vice Chair quickly approve the motion? Or the Board Secretary?

And then Trustee-elect McKie called for the wrong Motion. Hello???

Somebody, even the Chair, should have corrected her with "Point of Order". Her buddy, the other Trustee-elect, could have done that. Did no one else notice?

The four-minute delay in starting should have been covered with a message pop-up splashed on the screen to inform viewers to stand by. How many wondered whether the lack of action was because of a problem on their own computer?

The District should provide a number to which a text could be sent when there is a livestream problem.

Board members were apparently not coached on how to participate in a Livestream meeting regarding sound, speaking, identifying yourself before speaking, preventing audio feedback, silencing cell phones. You know, the basics.

The video quality was terrible. Most names on the video frames could not be read.

The seven board members' images should have been prioritized across the top, rather than scattered haphazardly on the screen.

The meeting-control moderator should have muted all, which would have eliminated background noises and cell phones.

If a board member wished to speak, there is probably a "Raise Hand" button and the Chair would call on him or her.

Trustee Agostini raised the question about the need for this meeting. Several others should have spoken on this and supported her question. Instead, the others must have been studying their fingernails, because no one else spoke up.

The superintendent's update could have been five minutes in length, instead of 16. You can watch the re-run yourself and determine how much was "filler".

The board trustees are Fiduciaries. They are supposed to be knowledgeable about business and conduct-of-business rules. And the protocol presented in Robert's Rules of Order. They are not elected to be good, non-confrontational buddies. Yes, they should get along. But, first of all, their obligation is to the taxpayers in the District.