2020-2021 Budget Meeting

The Richland 2 School Board held a 20-minute special-called meeting today to discuss the 2020-2021 budget. The meeting was live-streamed.

It was shocking to see that there were only 11-13 people attending this meeting. The counter in the upper left never exceeded 13. Did that include seven on the board, plus Supt. Davis, Libby Roof, Harry Miley and the woman from his department, to whom Dr. Miley gave credit for the report? And me? And one more?

Or was the number (13) those who were attending (excluding the board and staff) and viewing the livestream meeting?

Where were all the teachers who ought to be concerned about whether they are going to get paid or have jobs?

Maybe they were still teaching at 5:00PM. Reports to me indicate that they are having very long days.

Where were the parents and taxpayers who ought to be wondering whether their taxes will be going up?

The District should email survey (SurveyMonkey.com?) after meetings and ask questions, such as:

Did you know about the meeting?
Did you attend the meeting?
Did you plan to attend the meeting but missed it?
Will you watch the replay on YouTube or Livestream?
What would help you attend future board meetings?
 - Email reminder?
- RoboCall?
Should the District create a Public Portal like the City of Columbia?
Should the rescind the suspension of Board Policy BEDH - Public Participation at Meetings?
On a scale of 1-5 (5 being High), how important do you feel your voice is to the School Board?

Electronic surveys are dirt-cheap. But does the Board really want to know what parents, taxpayers and voters think?