Marana Unified board keeps live-streaming after debate over $720 per meeting cost
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Summary
Board members debated whether to continue paying $720 per meeting to stream regular governing-board meetings; after discussion weighing cost against transparency and rising viewership, the board voted to continue live-streaming.
The Marana Unified School District governing board voted Jan. 6 to continue live-streaming its regular meetings after an extended debate over the service’s cost and public access.
Superintendent Dr. Streeter told the board the district’s current purchase order with Fifth Avenue Productions to stream regular meetings expires in January 2026 and that the service costs $720 per meeting. "You can see the statistics from the last 2 years on views," Dr. Streeter said, presenting viewership data included in the board packet.
Board member Speaker 5 moved to discontinue the livestream contract, arguing "we are in Arizona, we have a financial crisis and $720 per meeting is very heavy for the views that we're getting," noting the district typically receives about "78 to 130 views." Other board members pushed back, saying viewership had increased by a third year-over-year and that the service supports transparency. One participant calculated an approximate cost-per-view and another described the annual cost as reasonable relative to the value of public access.
After the motion to stop streaming failed, Speaker 6 moved to continue live-streaming the district’s regular meetings; that motion was seconded and carried. The board recorded that it "will continue to live stream the regular governing board meetings." The transcript does not include a full roll-call tally for the final motion.
The board did not direct staff to select a different vendor or to seek immediate changes to the streaming arrangement during the meeting; follow-up responsibilities were suggested for the Communications/IT team.