Walton County School Board Changes Meeting Times

**BJackson** · 11-23-2011, 07:59 AM

According to the DeFuniak Springs paper, the Walton School Board agreed to meet once a month, and meet a second time as needed. They will meet the second Tuesday at 9am and the fourth Tuesday, when needed at 5pm for a special call meeting. The special meeting will only take place when needed. The vote was 4-1 with Roberts the nay vote. Roberts said her concern is meeting in the morning and district staff who might want to attend a meeting, would find it hard to do so since they are at work. The schedule will begin in January.

It was hard enough to get to the meetings at 5:00 pm since I work til 5:00 pm. I was lucky enough to have an employer who would let me off a little early to be able to make the meeting. Now it will be impossible for me to attend as well as all regular school employees.

**Jdarg** · 11-23-2011, 01:20 PM

I agree, this is terrible. Meetings should be as accessible as possible. Was there a reason given for the change to morning meetings?

**Diamond Dave** · 11-27-2011, 08:47 AM

If you'll notice, mostly all of our counties "Public Meetings" held are set at times when those of us who work and contribute to society are unavailable and would have to make special arrangements to attend a meeting. The BCC is no different. Just another example of local government not serving the PUBLIC.

dd

**mdd88jd** · 12-01-2011, 10:16 AM

Yes, we changed the meeting times and how we schedule. As you know, we rarely have any public participation in our meetings. Part of the reason for that is that we do so many things during meetings that are routine, i.e., approving trip requests, purchasing, contracts. Our idea is pretty simple. We will meet once a month in a regular meeting on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 9:00 a.m. If we have something special or controversial, then we have set aside the 4th Tuesday of each month at 5:00 p.m. for Special Meetings, workshops, etc. That way, if we don't have anything particularly controversial, we won't need the second meeting. And, of course, if a member of the public sees our published regular meeting agenda (website, local newspaper) and wants it to be placed on that special meeting agenda, we can certainly do that. This was an effort to save a small amount of money. We have to pay some staff overtime to attend meetings after hours. If it doesn't work, we can always go back to night meetings. I had mixed emotions about the change since we have always met at night. But, I would like to try it and see if it hinders or helps public participation or if there is no change. Thanks, guys.

**BJackson** · 12-01-2011, 09:14 PM

Thanks for the explanation, Mark. I hope it works out the way you described but I think you will just get less participation. I know less may be hard to achieve since there have been many meetings with only one member of the public in attendance.

**mdd88jd** · 12-02-2011, 02:34 PM

That is true. Heck, we have had many budget meetings and workshops where we are discussing massive changes and cuts to our programs and have no one from the public in the audience. We'll see how it works. I appreciate public comments and participation. I don't pretend I have all the answers or even know all the questions many times, so I like it when I hear from parents and members of the community. That doesn't mean I always agree, but, I enjoy hearing from the community that supports the system through the tax dollars.

We have tried a variety of approaches. We will see how this works... Thanks again.

**Jdarg** · 12-02-2011, 05:45 PM

Thank you a million times over for interacting with us on SoWal regarding WCSD issues. Since it is so difficult for many of us to make the meetings, it is nice to know that a school board member is listening and cares and takes the time to respond to questions and comments. You are the only school board member to do this, and we do notice down here. Thank you again.

**ricky bobby** · 06-01-2012, 03:31 PM

Sounds like they don't want any public participation.

**Annie66** · 06-03-2012, 09:25 AM

My husband went to almost all of the school board meetings for more than a year. I also have a teacher friend who used to go to all the meetings. From what I hear, the agenda is set and the board simply approves everything. 9:00AM doesn't sound like a very good time for people who work to go to the meetings. I would like to go to some meetings but it's impossible when I work.

**meggiemom** · 06-26-2012, 02:26 PM

Wow, one meeting a month? That sounds like a pretty good job if you ask me. How much are school board members paid?

**Annie66** · 06-27-2012, 08:47 AM

Originally Posted by meggiemom

Wow, one meeting a month? That sounds like a pretty good job if you ask me. How much are school board members paid?

Indeed! A very good job. My husband and a teacher friend who attended the meetings when they were held twice a month at 5:00PM report that the meetings usually last no more than an hour. And the board members' salary is almost as much as an entry level teacher.