Chambersburg parents seek chance to speak live at school board meetings
Some parents believe the Chambersburg Area school board has been violating Pennsylvania law by not providing a way for the public to actively participate during remote board meetings.
The school district says board meetings, which are streamed live on Youtube and on the radio, are more accessible than ever and have seen a big jump in participation since shifting to the remote model that incorporates previously submitted public comments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A district spokesperson shared guidelines from the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania District Attorneys' Association which he said show the board is running inside the lines.
However, an Open Records official said that, by now, the district should have a strategy in place for members of the public to participate live in a meeting.
Erik Arneson, executive director of the Office of Open Records, said that, based on the description provided by a reporter, it is "questionable, at best" if the Chambersburg school board is operating its remote meetings in compliance with the Sunshine Act.
What is the Sunshine Act?
The Sunshine Act is legislation that requires school boards, municipal councils and other government boards to deliberate and take official actions in view of the public.
In April, the General Assembly passed Act 15, an amendment authorizing government agencies to hold public meetings remotely. Although it does not apply to schools, it also does not prohibit schools from hosting remote meetings, according to both Arneson and district spokesperson Brian Miller. Schools hosting remote meetings still "must provide a reasonably accessible method for the public to participate and comment pursuant to Section 710.1 of the Sunshine Act. That method should be clearly explained to the public in advance of and during the meeting," according to OpenRecordsPennsylvania.com.
More:Here's how Chambersburg parents & educators think the first week of virtual learning went
Parents frustrated
Compliance with the Sunshine Act is connected to a web of frustrations parents say they have been feeling regarding the district's shift to distance learning.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of parents, regularly share their thoughts across two Facebook groups - the several-year-old Take Back Our Schools and the new CASD Voice Your Opinion. (It is worth noting that the creator and administrator of Take Back Our Schools, Sally Brooks, was appointed to the school board in the past year.)
Parent Kristin Simmons reached out to Public Opinion last week, saying she and other parents feel that school board members are not really listening to their frustrations about the downfalls to distance learning. She said she and others think they would be better served by being able to actually speak to board members, and they believe the Sunshine Act gives them that right. Specifically, she thinks the board is violating a provision of the law that says the public has the right to be present at all meetings.
She questioned why the school board won't use a program like Zoom, or even why board meetings couldn't be held outdoors in Trojan Stadium.
"It's pretty clear that you have to do everything you can possible to let the public be part of it," Simmons said, referring to the Sunshine Act amendment.
How do the school board's remote meetings work?
Like many other organizations, the Chambersburg school board has been hosting virtual meetings since April due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dana Baker, school board president, said the district worked with its in-house legal counsel and contracted solicitor to develop a plan that complies with the Sunshine Act.
The community can listen to school board meetings via a livestream on the district's Youtube channel or on the district's radio station, Trojan Radio 92.7. Not all board members and district officials show their faces on the livestream; for the most part, on the meeting agenda and connected documents at the BoardDocs website are shown on the screen.
At regular board meetings, there are two times allotted for public comment: one early in the meeting for topics on that meeting's agenda, and one at the end for non-agenda items. Thirty minutes are available for each public-comment time, but the board may vote to extend them, Baker said.
Since the meetings have been virtual, the district has asked members of the public to submit their comments and questions via email or by calling a provided number and leaving a voicemail. Submissions must be made by 5 p.m. the day of the meeting, Miller said. Like at in-person meetings, comments are shared aloud during the meeting in the order in which they were submitted, he added. Submissions are also provided later in the approved meeting minutes. The district also later shares answers to submitted questions on the district's website.
The school district used this same remote model to host a public forum on its reopening plan this summer.
More:What you need to know about Chambersburg School District reopening virtually
Why not use Zoom?
Chambersburg Area school board will continue holding remote meetings the same way it has been, for the time being, Baker said last Thursday.
However, he said he and other officials agree that there is room for improvement. Discussions have been happening, but "pretty much we're staying where we're at virtually for the public side of things," Baker said.
The district has chosen not to use Zoom over security concerns, Baker and Miller both explained.
"Instead, parents and community members are offered methods of making public comment that is not wholly dependent on one form of technology," Miller said.
However, Arneson, the Open Records official, said the risks that did exist with Zoom when the pandemic sent likely millions of people onto the videoconferencing platform have been addressed. The Pennsylvania School Board Association actually has an agreement with Zoom to allow school boards to use the service, he said. There are also similar platforms available, like Google Meet - which the district uses as part of its distance learning model for students.
By now, school boards and other government agencies should be able to "accommodate public participation" at remote public meetings, given the time that has passed since the pandemic forced the shift, Arneson said. The Sunshine Act amendment from April essentially requires other government agencies hosting remote meetings to use a platform that allows for live commenting, because the technology is available.
"If you can do it, you have to do it," Arneson explained.
In his view, only agencies in sparsely populated, rural areas have any valid argument against using live videoconferencing to host public meetings.
"For a decently sized agency to not be allowing direct public participation...at this point it raises a lot of questions," Arneson said.
However, a state school board association spokesperson said she knows a number of school districts use email to conduct public comment, and that's OK.
"The guidance PSBA offers relating to virtual school board meetings is not intended to suggest that there is only one way of satisfying Sunshine Act public comment requirements," said Annette Stevenson, chief communications officer for PSBA. "We are aware that some districts have been using email to receive public comment. While there can be drawbacks to any alternative, it has never been required that an agency’s public comment opportunity be unlimited in making it possible for everyone who wants to offer comment to do so. However, we cannot comment on whether a specific district is optimally implementing the particular method it is using. We emphasize to our members that they should rely upon the advice of their solicitor about these kinds of issues."
Parents plan protest
A "Parking Lot Protest" is planned at 4 p.m. Sept. 22 in the parking lot of the CASD Administration Building. Organizers say signs and language should be peaceful, and masks are required.
Meanwhile, the next regular school board meeting is scheduled that same day at 7 p.m. Find the livestream at https://www.youtube.com and search for Chambersburg Area School District.
To make a public comment, email boardmeeting@casdonline.org or call 717-261-5699 by 5 p.m. that day.
Amber South can be reached at asouth@publicopinionnews.com.