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Waukesha school board approves policy on broadcasting, editing of meeting recordings
Summary
The Waukesha School District Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt Policy 91-20, prioritizing live broadcasting and establishing rules for editing recorded meetings and retaining unedited originals.
The Waukesha School District Board of Education voted 9-0 on Feb. 13 to adopt Policy 91-20, a revision that makes broadcasting and recording board and committee meetings a priority and sets rules for when recordings may be edited and who may approve edits.
The policy sets expectations that meetings will be broadcast “whenever technically practicable,” establishes guidelines for editing posted recordings, requires notice when recordings have been edited, and directs the district to retain unedited versions for public records requests. The board discussion was led in committee by Board member David Wadd and debated at length by Board member Webb and other trustees before the vote.
Board member Webb pressed for clarity on transparency and past editing of recordings, saying the policy was intended to “provide the information that someone would have if they were in the room.” Webb recounted a prior meeting in which a sequence was removed from a posted video and said the adopted policy should prevent similar unexplained removals. Superintendent Kelly Piasik explained the policy’s practical limits, noting that technical failures sometimes prevent live streaming and that the district will not pause open meetings to resolve technical issues. Piasik said the policy includes exceptions for nonpublic meetings and clarifies who may approve edits — typically the presiding officer, the superintendent and an officer of the board when applicable — for narrowly defined reasons such as protecting private student information.
Supporters said clarifying editing authority and retaining unedited copies preserves public access to the record while allowing the district to protect personally identifying or legally protected information when necessary. The motion to adopt Policy 91-20 was moved by David Wadd and seconded by Thomas Harland. The roll call vote was 9 in favor, 0 opposed.
Board President Mark Borowski presided over the meeting; the board indicated it will post notes when recorded meetings are edited and maintain originals for open records requests.
