Richmond’s board of education will schedule one public board meeting a month but is reserving the fourth Wednesday of the month for either a public meeting, an in-camera meeting or a workshop.
This scheduling change – after a six-month pilot – was unanimously agreed to by the board on Wednesday evening.
Trustee Donna Sargent said she feels board meetings are about doing board business in public, calling them “very transparent and open,” whereby agendas are shared with the public and the public can come to meetings and give feedback.
“I think this structure is really working well,” Sargent said.
But, she added, she likes that the board has the opportunity to learn about issues before they come to a vote.
“We should have opportunities to give input at the beginning of things, not just at board meetings,” Sargent said.
After the meeting, however, Sargent clarified to the Richmond News that workshops aren’t decision-making meetings, rather they function like professional development opportunities.
“I would not be for something where we’re coming to a consensus if we haven’t heard from the public,” Sargent said.
When trustees learn in-depth about issues at workshops, they are better informed when they have to make decisions at board meetings, she added.
Trustee Debbie Tablotney pointed out at Wednesday’s board meeting that, in addition to board meetings, committee meetings are also public and sometimes it’s easier to give feedback there. The schedule of meetings and agendas are posted on the school district website.
She encouraged the public to “use those as opportunities to come and meet with us.”
Wednesday’s regular board of education meeting followed its annual organizational meeting where Ken Hamaguchi was acclaimed the chair and Sandra Nixon was acclaimed vice-chair after no other nominations were made. This will be the second year for both of them in these positions.
