The North Vancouver school board trustees will decide this September whether they are ready for their closeups, when they examine filming and posting videos of board meetings online.
It’s one school project deserving of an A+. In an age when anyone with a iPhone and an Internet account has the ability to become an instant video producer, school districts have been what we might call “late adopters” of technology when it comes to documenting their own decisions.
For the past three years, filming has been “allowed” at public board meetings, but it’s fallen to a parent volunteer to actually carry out the task. His efforts have been Herculean, but it’s hardly good government to expect someone from the public to carry out a job the school district should do themselves.
It isn’t hard to figure out why school board meetings are sparsely attended in person. Meetings happen right around when most people with a direct stake in the trustees’ decisions are focusing on bath time, helping out with homework or getting the kids to bed.
The school district today is wrangling with some big issues – a lack of space for students, the need to build a new school in Lower Lonsdale, seismic upgrades or rebuilds of older schools.
And because these decisions have weighty implications for land use, taxes and the future of our community generally, everyone has an interest and a right to know what happens.
It’s long been standard for municipalities to film their meetings and make videos available.
If trustees follow through on this, they’ll be earning a gold star.
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