The Westerville City School District Board of Education today announced that it will take advantage of the state’s recently approved emergency legislation allowing Ohio boards of education to conduct business by teleconference, videoconference, or any similar electronic technology means.
Board members will use videoconference technology to conduct their April 6, 2020, regular meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. The meeting will be streamed to comply with the legislation’s requirement that the public can observe and hear the discussions of all the members of the public body.
“This is new territory for all of us, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few hiccups along the way,” said Board President Rick Vilardo. “We’ll do our best, see how things go with this first meeting, and make any needed improvements to our process for future virtual meetings.”
Though permitting public comment during school board meetings is not a requirement, the Board believes it is an important part of its engagement with and accountability to the community. Therefore, in the spirit of maintaining public participation during videoconference meetings, the Board will receive written public comment. As with traditional Board meetings held in person, the opportunity to submit public comment will open when the meeting begins at approximately 6 p.m. and close just prior to each public comment section on the agenda.
The district has established a webpage at https://www.wcsoh.org/virtualboe with meeting details and all links necessary for the public to observe or submit written comment.