The focus of Citizen Joene DePlancke’s comments at the October Board of Education (BOE) Meeting was communication. Specifically, DePlancke was referring to the board’s communication with the public. The comment is one of many in a series recently directed toward the board. Over the past few months, concerned citizens have accused the board of a lack of communication with the public and that the board has not been transparent with its activities. Citizens argue that during workshops and meetings, they do not know what information is behind the tabs in the notebooks the board uses. They criticize this process because the board approves items that are not revealed to the public. Under these circumstances, the public has no knowledge of what is approved during the meetings. Based on October’s meeting, the board seems to be listening to the public.

At its October meeting, Superintendent Bryan Dorsey used a power point presentation to show the public the items that were voted on by the board. Early in the meeting, Board Member Gary Hyde explained to those present that the information on the screen was precisely what the board had in front of them. Deplancke, though, commented that the print was too small for her to read, calling it “microscopic.” But, the board not only presented its information in a power-point, but titled the sections and announced the items discussed.

Despite Deplancke’s comment, the effort seems to be a response to criticisms of the board’s lack of transparency. The practice of using power-point during BOE meetings is expected to continue and seems to be an effort by the board to improve its communication with the public.

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