The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School Board is once again a vote away from implementing a change to their listening session policy, which would allow for recording and audio devices to be prohibited at the discretion of the board members present.
On March 9, the board moved the policy to a final vote. It reads: “The school board reserves the right to conclude the listening session in the event that audio or video recordings are being made and when such recordings may present a barrier to participation.”
Previously, the District 191 board was set to take a final vote on a policy which would have banned the devices altogether from listening sessions, and would allow the board to end listening sessions “in the event that such recordings are being made.”
After receiving clarification from its legal counsel, the rule was sent back to the policy committee, which Chairperson Scott Hume said allowed the board “to make a more fully informed decision when the final policy revisions come back to us for approval at a later date.”
Listening sessions are held from 5:45-6:15 p.m. on the nights of school board meetings. Two board members attend each session, along with the superintendent or assistant superintendent, meaning it’s not a quorum of the school board. A summary of what is discussed is provided to all the board members.
Treasurer Eric Miller said during the policy committee meeting that the reason for the proposal wasn’t to keep the media out, but instead to make sure no one felt intimidated about speaking on a particular issue.
“We don’t want that to occur; we would hope that everybody feels free and welcome to come speak their opinions,” Miller said. “We’re not saying we’re going to pick somebody up and throw them out of the room or have them arrested because they brought a video recording device. We simply say we reserve the right to conclude the listening session if they’re doing so.”
Policy committee meeting members said an appropriate example of when cameras would be allowed is when parents want to record their child speaking to the board members, which board member Safio Mursal said occurred during the listening session on March 9.
“It’s just so we don’t drive public participation away, so if it becomes a barrier, we want to maintain the authority to say ‘no,’” Mursal said about the policy.
Hume, who was the only person to vote against the policy, originally said he felt “very good,” about the changes made to the proposal.
