Boardroom lay-out

Come to the February 8th board meeting in person.

Attending in-person means the board has to see you.

Look carefully at the lay-out of the board room. Notice how much of the room is taken up with the "social-distancing" of the board desks from the corner behind the superintendent toward the audience.

Then count the desks and floor area taken up by staff. Ask yourself: "Why is the staff placed between the board and the audience?"

Then there is the social-distancing for the audience. Do you feel like you are out in the Back Forty?

If staff were placed elsewhere (for example, in an adjacent room with video or not even there!), more members of the public could be accommodated. Would 60-100 community members and parents attend?

Why does the superintendent get the King's position in the corner? The entire board should face the audience. 

Trustee Scott called attention to the superintendent's place of honor. That's where the board chair should be - in the corner, on the angle where she can easily see (and hear) every trustee, so that she can call on them promptly (and then stop talking while they talk).

Got an opinion on this? Send an email to the full board, asking them to change their own seating and to remove the staff from its position as a barrier to the board. Before or after you send that email, post a comment below.