What would viewers see of meetings?

The board rescheduled nine of its last 14 regular meetings.
AUSTINTOWN -- No matter how they adjust their television sets, township residents most likely won't get the whole picture when they watch the first television broadcast of an Austintown school board meeting.
That's because the school board doesn't plan on broadcasting the comments made by residents at the beginning of regular board meetings or the work sessions held just before regular meetings. Board members often discuss issues in the work session that they don't talk about in the regular meeting.
The board will broadcast board votes and comments by school officials made at regular meetings on Channel 19, the township's public-access television station, beginning in May.
Board member Michael Creatore proposed broadcasting board meetings when he campaigned last fall. He said local residents told him during the campaign that they can't always attend the regular meetings because of scheduling conflicts, and they asked that the meetings be broadcast on Channel 19.
"If you're a taxpayer or voter, you want to see how the money's being spent and who's hiring," Creatore said.
Want to see voting
Board member David Ritchie noted that residents did not ask to see the public comments or the work sessions.
"They want to know what we're voting on at the meetings, so we're giving them the opportunity to see what our meetings entail," Ritchie said.
During a work session last Monday, board members talked about special education, employee raises, making sure pupils live in the district, and what school programs could be cut to save money. None of those issues were discussed during the regular meeting that followed.
The work sessions are open to the public, and the board announces the time of the next work session at each regular meeting, but few if any residents attend. No residents attended the Monday session, which was held behind a closed, unlocked door in the faculty lounge at Lloyd Elementary School.
About 30 residents attended the regular meeting in the Lloyd gym.
All board votes are held during the regular meeting. Board member Brad Gessner said he thinks what the board discusses during the work sessions is not as important to the community as how it votes.
"The actual decisions the school board makes and the votes we take are the ones that impact our school system," Gessner said. He compared broadcasting the work sessions to printing a reporter's notes in a newspaper before a final article is published.
The school board is not the only local government body to have work sessions to discuss business. Work sessions or caucuses are also held by the Sharon, Farrell and Hermitage, Pa., school boards, the Youngstown school board, Youngstown city council, Sharon and Farrell, Pa., city council, and the Hermitage, Pa., city commissioners.
Ritchie said the work sessions allow the board to "iron out questions" about agenda items. He added that discussing issues in work sessions reduces the confusion that could otherwise occur at a regular meeting.
Board members typically don't give reasons for their votes or explain resolutions during a regular meeting. Administrators, such as superintendent Stan Watson and treasurer Barb Kliner, explain some of the resolutions.
Variety of resolutions
The board voted on a total of 29 resolutions at Monday's regular meeting, including resolutions to hire, lay off, transfer or accept resignations from 74 teachers, substitutes, staff members and volunteers. The board also voted not to renew the contract of substitute employees not listed in the agenda or named by the board members. The substitutes' names were on a list given to the board by school staff.
Neither board members nor administrators gave reasons for the employee changes.
Watson later explained to a reporter that the state requires the board to take action on any staff changes for next school year by the end of April. Some members of the staff were laid off for the summer in order to save money and will be rehired at the beginning of next school year.
The only board member to comment on an issue during Monday's regular meeting was Creatore, who expressed concern about the district's facing a $2.1 million deficit next year.
"I think we could do a much better job explaining what the resolutions are, especially when it comes to hiring and expenditures," Creatore said. He said he thinks that broadcasting the meetings on Channel 19 will encourage board members to talk more about the votes and perhaps make work sessions irrelevant.
Perception of secrecy
Creatore also noted that as he campaigned door-to-door last year, several residents told him they felt that "everything's a big secret in the school system." He said part of that feeling may stem from the board's decision to not always hold meetings in the board offices. Some meetings are held at schools.
In addition, over the last 16 months, the board has rescheduled most of its meetings so that they don't fall on the same day each month. A resolution approved by the board at the beginning of this year and last sets the meetings for the third Monday of each month, but only five of the 14 regular meetings held in the last 16 months have been held on that day.
The board has set its next meeting for May 18, the third Tuesday of the month.
Ritchie said the meetings had to be rescheduled because some board members were sick or out of town on the third Monday of the month.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;hill@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;