Schools

Fair Lawn School Board Split on Televising Meetings

Some board members said they believed televising meetings would open them to more people, while other members said they expected it would lead to grandstanding.

Members of the Fair Lawn Board of Education have discussed potentially televising some of their meetings, but the issue has members split over what exactly should be recorded, if anything at all.

Members who supported televising the meetings said they believed it would create more transparency into the workings of the school board, allow those who can't make it to meetings to know what happens and help spread word of any district happenings which are not covered by Patch or local newspapers.

"There are so many positive things happening in this district that people are not aware of," board member Mark Spindel said during a community relations committee meeting Monday.

Board members opposed to televising meetings said they were concerned it could lead to political grandstanding.

"We're talking about out kids ... people are passionate about their kids," board President Michael Rosenberg said.

Rosenberg also said he believed the district's website, local news outlets and a planned district Facebook page were sufficient for getting information to residents.

"The good stuff that's happening in the schools is very much being put out there," Rosenberg said.

Several board members also said they were unsure exactly what meetings would be broadcast. There are some work session meetings, like Monday's, during which members talk about what action they will take and there are regular meetings which consist mostly of board members voting on previously-discussed resolutions.

"In the long run, there are going to be some things that you don't want televised because they're not productive," board member John Mancinelli said.

If the board does decide to start broadcasting their meetings, they'll also need to decide how they want to do it— live or prerecorded, on Fair Lawn TV or online.

"I'm not a big fan of the TV idea, but a webcast we could do," board member Eugene Banta said.


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