The North East School District publishes the agenda and backup documents to be discussed and/or voted on before every school board meeting. They are posted on the school district website just over 24 hours prior to the meeting which is within the time they are required to do so. Backup documents can be quite long, a brief set might be 60 or 70 pages, but often run over 100 and sometimes over 200 pages in length. If you consider the time necessary just to eat, sleep and tend to family and jobs or business, the public has very little time to examine the agenda and documents before the meeting.
If the school district’s intention is to inform the public about the topics up for discussion, they would be far better served by making those documents available sooner, perhaps using the same time schedule as currently followed by both North East Borough and Township where agendas are posted 3 days before their meetings. That extra time makes it possible for interested citizens to adjust their schedule so they can attend the meeting to hear the discussion, offer comments and ask questions if a topic listed is of particular concern to them.
Publish agendas and documents 72 hours before meetings
Earlier publication is simple, the public would have the opportunity to study the materials, becoming more informed and meeting attendance might increase with citizens who are interested in how their schools operate. The school district would benefit by having better discussions and comments from the public.
The school district might counter this proposal by saying last minute agenda changes are sometimes necessary, but that is already dealt with since “agenda revisions” is the first item on the agenda after taking the roll call of board members present.
So, a more informed public, increased attendance at the meetings by interested citizens as well as more and better comments from engaged voters and taxpayers who want the best for our students and everyone in the community, what’s not to like?
The school district could start immediately, perhaps even today. What do you think?
Jo Tomasino says
Absolutely !!!!!!
Jen says
Agree …. Everyone understands changes but they can get the core of what’s being discussed available ASAP… Thanks again Paul for making people stop and think. It’s so easy to just accept “this is the way we’ve always done things” explanation.