LIVE STREAM & TOSS OUT
A closer look at the discussion behind a high school district not providing access to video recordings of governing board meetings.
The Superintendent of the Buckeye Union High School District refuses to discuss with me further why he is not in favor of archiving videos of Governing Board meetings.
The Superintendent of the Buckeye Union High School District doesn't want to be interviewed about why he is not in favor of archiving live streams of Governing Board meetings.
On Monday, June 19th, Buckeye Union High School District Governing Board voted down an agenda item which could have changed policy and require the District to save meeting recordings for the public to view at any time.
“Administration believes that this practice has sufficiently met the needs of the district.” - BUHSD Governing Board Agenda Item 6.13 | June 19, 2023
The Administration.
Two board members made good arguments about why this policy is outdated and hinders communication with constituents.
The public’s right to know how our tax dollars are being handled is important to me… And many times, watching and hearing our stewards make these important decisions tells a far different story than what’s posted to meeting minutes.
Busy parents and teachers who coach at night, as pointed out by Board Member Dr. Blackburn, are not able to attend meetings. Keeping recordings would be helpful to them.
Board Member Mr. Nathan Madden cites numerous government agencies, including the District’s feeder schools, which make available recordings on YouTube channels and entities websites.
This video we’ve edited attempts to overcome live stream audio deficiencies with subtitles so you can get a clearer picture of the discussion... And how a 3-2 vote maintains the practice of live streaming only... a practice Superintendent Dr. Bebee says was in place when he got the top job.... the same response he provided when asked about why the District no longer honors valedictorians.
While Dr. Bebee states the law does not require the district to keep video recordings of its board meetings, the public’s right to know every discussion about how our tax dollars are being handled is important to me… So turn up the volume and let me know what you think.
Please view our introductory story about this topic in our Substack article, “Threshold of Inconvenience.”