Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Board member's barking dog

Which board member owns a dog that barked during the 4/28/2020 board meeting?

Either the board member should mute her Zoom participation or the moderator should mute all except the Chair.

The video of the meeting was altered from what actually happened on April 28, 2020. When it was time for the pledge of allegiance, most of the board members stood and recited it. Trustee Elkins-Johnson did not.

When the video of the meeting was published, a U.S. Flag was shown in motion. That did not happen during the meeting! It should not have been inserted into the video that was published.

On the agenda was a Homeschool Application, with approval of it sought on first reading. Waiver of the two-readings rule was not apparently sought from the board, and they just let it slide right on through. Mrs. Agostini moved for approval of "the homeschool application presented to us tonight on April 28, 2020."

The draft of the application should have been attached to the agenda and made available to the public and to the board members before the meeting. Mrs. Agostini's motion makes it clear that the Administration did not inform the members of the board about the content of the application before the meeting.

I don't know why the board members stand for this type of control by the Administration of the District. Other board members have repeatedly asked the superintendent to give them adequate notice of proposals. That is not always happening, and they don't demand his compliance.

Who works for whom?



Does video of 4/28/2020 Meeting Exist?

This morning a FOIA Request was sent to Richland 2 School District for a copy of the video-recording of the April 28, 2020 Regular Meeting of the School Board.

Why did I send a FOIA Request?

The superintendent has not responded to Monday's email about the video.

The Board Chair has not responded to an email sent late yesterday afternoon about this video.

It either exists or it doesn't.

If it doesn't, there should be no delay in saying so and explaining why.

If it does exist, it should have been posted already. Videos are normally posted on YouTube and on the District's website by the Thursday following the Tuesday meeting.

Why is it different this time?

EDIT: The 4/28/2020 video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKOpcXiolLI&feature=youtu.be