D-211 Grapples With How To Broadcast Meetings

officials said the startup costs of recording and broadcasting school board meetings ranged from $50,000 to $101,000.

That surprised Palatine resident Jen Zold, who recorded most of the meeting on a friend's handheld video camera from the audience.

"It's that simple," Zold said. "We all have the technology at home. Our children can do this. I can put this on YouTube tomorrow."

School board member Bill Robertson in September asked for information about the possibility of broadcasting the meetings. A report from Superintendent Nancy Robb included a cost estimate of $50,000 to $101,000.

The estimates were based on "multiple camera scenarios, cables, connectors, video mixing equipment, editing software and the hardware components needed to save the video recording to a DVD, and personnel costs," according to the report.

Robb said those were startup costs, and annual costs would be about $1,000. The meetings could be broadcast on local cable access channels or streamed through the internet.

School board member Anna Klimkowicz said she thought the endeavor was worthwhile and the district should look at lower cost options, such as looking at a partnership with .

"We've got a great staff. We've got great administrators and they do excellent presentations to us," Klimkowicz said. "I think when we are talking about transparency, communication. We need to be able to do this if the cost is reasonable. It's a wonderful thing for the community."

Robertson balked at the high cost, but said he had spoken to Palatine village officials about other options that might mitigate the cost. Palatine broadcasts its village council meetings.

He said the Palatine Village Council agreed to allow the District 211 school board to meet in council chambers on a trial basis to see if broadcasting the meetings was worthwhile. Robertson also said Palatine's cost is about $3,000 a year, despite the fact the council meets three times a month. The school board meets about twice a month.

Another option, Robertson said, was that the village could "donate" an employee's hours and equipment for several District 211 meetings. The meetings could be recorded and rebroadcast and the district could receive feedback from the public.

After Robertson finished, school board President Bob LeFevre, Jr. asked associate superintendent Daniel Cates how much time officials spent compiling the report on broadcasting meetings. Cates said 25 hours.

LeFevre then suggested that Robertson put forth a motion that told district staff what information was needed "because apparently we didn't do that last time."

"I would prefer not to waste everyone's time and try to be respectful of that because the first priority for them is to educate the kids and this has nothing to do with that," LeFevre, Jr. said.

The board unanimously approved a motion directing Robb to speak with Palatine Village officials and Harper College about broadcasting options.