District 68 Won't Videotape Board Meetings

Skokie School District 68 board members opted against the possibility of videotaping their meetings last month.

The trustees “informally” passed on the option due to associated costs and risks, the Skokie Review reports.

Nancy Battaglia, the district’s director of technology presented three options that ranged in cost from $10,000 to $34,000.

“The board room is a multipurpose room and most equipment will need to be put up before a board meeting and taken down and stored after a board meeting,” Battaglia said. “The more extensive the equipment, the more time it will take to set up, possibly reducing using the space and time for other trainings on days of board meetings”

Superintendent James Garwood warned against it, noting that videotaping can provide opportunities for “misuse” by the public.

“That can be in the form of politicizing, campaigning, taking video clips out of context,” he said. “Having worked in a school district that videotaped, I saw those things play out.”

more via the Skokie Review