Fresno Unified first in-person meeting since last March won’t be livestreamed. Here’s why

As students and teachers prepare for in-person classes that start in about a week, Fresno Unified School District trustees are planning to take board meetings to campuses.

Board meetings will switch to in-person starting on April 7. However, they will not be livestreamed, like they’ve been since before the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. The board meetings will be held at different school sites, the first being at Roosevelt High School’s cafeteria at 5:45 p.m.

“While we’re returning to in-person meetings, everyone is still required to follow health and safety guidelines, including physical distancing,” FUSD spokesperson Amy Idsvoog told The Bee’s Education Lab in an email. “Utilizing larger spaces allows for more of our community to attend.”

Although holding meetings at school sites provides more space than the board room in Fresno Unified’s downtown offices, Idsvoog said, seating is first come first serve. The boardroom has livestreaming technology but school sites do not, which limits the amount of people who can watch the meeting in real time.

“It’s not a matter of choice, it’s a matter of availability,” Trustee Valerie Davis told the Ed Lab. “We can’t do it (livestream) at Roosevelt High School. It’s just too hard to get everything (livestreaming equipment) there.”

There will be between 75 and 80 seats set aside for the public, Trustee Terry Slatic said. He also said the livestreaming equipment at the district office is “massively outdated” and is being updated.

The meetings will be recorded and posted online within 48 hours.

“By taking meetings into the community, those interested in specific agenda items can now attend in-person,” Idsvoog said.

The board looked at different options for transitioning to in-person meetings, but “heard a lot” from the community about wanting to make public comments face-to-face, Trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas said.

“That’s why we decided to go out into the community and also we haven’t been at school sites in a long time,” Jonasson Rosas told the Ed Lab. “It came down to choices between being able to livestream from the boardroom and having much more limited capacity for the public to come and participate or doing it in a place where we could have not only more community but more staff participate.”

Since FUSD board meetings started going virtual about a year ago, community members have not been able to personally address the board. People have been required to submit public comments online, however, not all of the comments are read aloud. On agenda items that have dozens of comments submitted, district staff will read the first comment aloud and list the names of others who submitted comments with similar sentiments.

“I know there might be drawbacks but I want people to know we do read them (public comments) and we get them in advance,” Jonasson Rosas said. “I’m speaking for myself as one trustee, I do read them during my breaks during the day. I don’t want the public to think their voice isn’t being heard.”

Jonasson Rosas said once FUSD starts to receive feedback from the community, things could change and that’s why plans need to be “fluid.”

What’s happening in Clovis, Central districts

Some of the other larger school districts in Fresno County have taken a different approach to public comments during virtual meetings. The Clovis and Central districts had people call in for public comments.

Central and Clovis have also switched to in-person meetings. Central Unified board meetings are open to the public at 25% capacity and people can still call in for public comment. At Clovis Unified meetings, the public can also attend in-person and call in to address the board.

Fresno Unified is setting aside 30 minutes at the beginning of its meeting for public comment on unscheduled agenda items, Davis said, and if need be will open it up again at the end of the meeting.

Those who aren’t able to attend the meeting in-person can submit a public comment by email to publiccomment@fresnounified.org. People need to include their name, agenda item number, or subject they want to address. The comments need to be 250 words or less and emailed no later than 8 p.m. on April 6.

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Read more from The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.