By Dani Tietz
Just this week, the Mahomet Daily marked a decade of covering the Mahomet and Seymour communities, including the Village of Mahomet and the Mahomet-Seymour School District governments. Sometimes, that amount of time seems like forever. Other times, it seems like only a minute.
As a reporter, I’ve covered the Mahomet-Seymour area longer than that, though. I remember the first time I covered a Mahomet-Seymour School board meeting. I was writing for the Mahomet Citizen, a weekly print publication. I don’t remember what the topics were, but I remember we were in the cafeteria of Middletown Elementary, an aging Pre-K and kindergarten building that has since been torn down. I took notes during the open session, then waited in the hall during the closed session, just in case they came back into open session after. This is a common practice for journalists.
At that time, around 2008 or 2009, the idea of bringing a voice recorder to a board meeting wasn’t something I thought about. Video recording a meeting was out of the question. It was just me and a notepad, hoping that I got the information that was given to me correct so that I could write a decent article for my publisher.
From that moment on, when I had to report on a meeting, I was nervous. I wanted to give complete and accurate stories, but the amount of information that was presented or given to the public was limited. For example, from 2013-2016, the public would only get a minimal agenda for a Mahomet-Seymour School Board meeting, per law. A journalist or a community member only knew what was told to them during the board meeting, by a mass email from the district with some highlights, or through a newspaper.
I can attest to the fact that prior to 2017-2018, spectators at board meetings were sparse. I remember one conversation with former Superintendent Rick Johnston. He asked about the publication’s statistics and what topics were the most read. I told him, adding that not many people read board recaps. He was happy to hear this information.
Then, in 2017, as the district prepared to hire a new superintendent; as the district sold an elementary school; as rumors swirled that the former Superintendent would undertake the district’s next construction project; as the district removed a beloved assistant principal, the Mahomet Daily began to video record meetings so that the public could see what discussions were happening and what decisions were made after those discussions.
It was nerve-racking doing this, as no reporter had done this at one of the meetings before, but the law states that the public can do so.
As more questions and calls for transparency came to the forefront, the District also began to release most of the board packet for its constituents with data and background information on how decisions were being made. As former Superintendent Lindsey Hall was curious about the data I requested, she called me to her office. I pressed for even more information to be released to the public, and it was.
Shortly after we started putting those meetings on social media platforms, the district decided to expand its recording capabilities, which they already used in each school and at athletic events, to the board room. They installed microphones and video cameras, used the Bulldog TV YouTube channel, and streamed the videos for the public to see.
Prior to 2019, though, they only streamed about 50 percent of the meetings. It wasn’t until a board change with three new board members in 2019 that the district started to stream every meeting, including committee meetings. Many of those meetings were hard to watch, spanning hours of difficult conversations.
But those conversations were there for the public to see how decisions were made. Constituents could see the positions taken by board members on various issues and how policies might affect their families and children. There was no filter, no propaganda, only raw information so that the public could make a decision about how they wanted to live their life. They could dig deeper or move on. They could form opinions or turn the stream off. Of course, questions still loom, but overall, the system has been more transparent than it has ever been, with room to grow, of course.
Transparency in government is paramount. Public authorities should be open, communicative, and responsive. This means that they should make public all information related to the activity of administration. Interested parties should have equal access to data and information sources.
The principle of transparency also means that institutions should be open and candid in the execution of their functions. This encourages access to information, subject only to clearly defined and constrained exceptions as set forth by law.
Video streaming of public meetings is important for a number of reasons, including:
Accessibility: It allows people who cannot attend in person to still participate in the meeting. This includes people who are physically unable to attend, people who live in a different location, or people who have work or family commitments that prevent them from attending.
Engagement: It can help to increase engagement in public meetings. When people can watch the meeting from home, they are more likely to pay attention and participate. This can lead to better decision-making and more informed citizens.
Transparency: It promotes transparency and accountability by allowing citizens to see and hear what is being discussed at public meetings. This can help to build trust between citizens and their government.
Accountability: It can help to hold government officials accountable for their decisions. When citizens can see and hear what is being said at public meetings, they are more likely to speak up if they have concerns.
Cost-effectiveness: It is a cost-effective way to reach a large audience. Streaming a public meeting can cost a fraction of what it would to rent a meeting space and hire staff to transcribe the meeting minutes.
In addition to these benefits, video streaming public meetings can also help to:
- Increase civic engagement
- Improve decision-making
- Enhance community relations
- Build trust between citizens and their government
This summer, the Village of Mahomet decided to stop live-streaming their meetings via Zoom. If there is one good thing COVID mitigations brought to the public, it was that boards were forced to find ways to communicate with the public in ways they had not before. Some boards took to live streaming on Facebook, while others used Zoom, then put their meetings on YouTube. Most governments have continued this practice even after COVID mitigations have been lifted.
The Village still audio records its meetings, and if constituents ask for the audio, it will be provided. The Village does provide the Mahomet Daily with its recordings within 24 hours after the meeting has been completed.
Now, according to the Sept. 18 board packet, the Mahomet-Seymour School District will discuss whether or not it is necessary to livestream all school board meetings on YouTube, which has become common practice.
Since those three board members left in May 2023, only about 50 percent of the board meetings have been streamed. Some of the meetings that have been left off the YouTube channel are the “listening session” tour, which began in May 2023. In a call for transparency, the board of education has decided to provide the public with their board discussion about what they heard at the listening tour but do not include the actual listening tour recordings.
A FOIA request was sent to the district for the recordings from the listening tour. The district responded to the request, citing that only one meeting had been recorded, the virtual meeting on July 22—and could be found online. But the truth of the matter is that there were more meetings recorded. A recording submitted to the Mahomet Daily shows Board President Sunny McMurry stated that she recorded the first meeting on May 22.
As the board of education continues to talk about a possible 2024 referendum, McMurry consistently talks about being transparent with the community, yet the district isn’t: 1) recording the listening tour meetings so that the public can see what others are saying, filtering those discussions through the board of education or 2) providing the public with those recordings.
It’s just a guess, but low participation (maybe 15ish+) of people who did not focus on the district’s need for a junior high is not the story the district wants to tell. So, it’s more convenient for the tapes not to be out there.
No matter what the district asks taxpayers for next, it is important for the district and the Village to be transparent. Both governments have recently asked taxpayers for money. And both entities could need more from taxpayers in the future.
The district has continuously had conversations about how they can reach more constituents: flyers, emails, town halls, festivals, etc. And in the midst of those questions, a board conversation will happen to discuss whether or not the board needs to stream their meetings or limit the stream to meetings where votes happen.
When a board operates transparently, it allows shareholders, employees, and the broader community to gain insight into its decision-making processes, rationales, and outcomes. This assures stakeholders that the board is acting in their best interests and promotes accountability, as decisions and actions are made in the open rather than behind closed doors. Part of the discussion before 2019 was that board votes were unanimous without much discussion.
Without transparency, misinformation and mistrust can flourish, leading to reduced stakeholder confidence and even financial repercussions. In essence, board transparency, including streaming video, serves as a safeguard, ensuring ethical governance and bolstering the institution’s reputation in the eyes of the public.
Of course, boards in Illinois only have so much that is required for them to do. They only need to provide an agenda. They only need to provide board notes, which aren’t always accurate. They only need to take verbatim notes of closed sessions, and those discussions never have to be released to the public.
But in 2023, where resources are abundant for transparency, governments must take the extra step to ensure their constituents have all the information they need to decide how they want to live their collective lives.
