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Kutztown Area SD board approves remote-attendance policy after heated debate over enforcement
Summary
The board approved for first reading Policy 006.1 on attendance via electronic communications after rejecting an amendment that would have required board members to remain visible on camera and allowed a president or chair to deem a director 'not present.' The amendment failed and the policy advanced on a subsequent roll-call vote.
The Kutztown Area School District Board of School Directors approved for first reading Policy 006.1, which governs attendance at meetings via electronic communications, after a lengthy debate over whether the policy should require directors to remain visible on video.
The discussion centered on an amendment proposed by a board member to add language that "it is recommended that the school director be visible on screen for the duration of the meeting" and to remove a clause allowing the board president or committee chair to deem a director "not present." That amendment failed on a roll-call vote (Yes: Gary Paul; Laurel Ziegler; Michael Hess. No: Jeremiah Light; Fantasy Discions; Daniel Whismer; Aaron Angle; Jason Cox), and the board subsequently voted to approve the policy as written on first reading.
Board Member (who proposed the amendment) said the visibility recommendation was meant to strengthen connection among members: "it is recommended that the school director be visible on screen for the duration of the meeting." Opponents argued the amendment could be punitive and that connectivity problems sometimes require a member to go off camera. One board member said the policy, as written, felt "overly harsh" and could be read as a mechanism to exclude a member who briefly loses video.
Superintendent Kristin Terja cited guidance suggesting that recent court rulings favor participation and that policies should balance accountability with residents' and board members' legal rights to participate: she described the paragraph as an attempt to give the board "teeth" while noting courts have tended to support participation in public meetings.
During the debate, several members emphasized a preference for encouraging video participation rather than immediate removal from meetings when connectivity problems occur. The board president said the expectation should be that members make every effort to remain on screen but acknowledged exceptions for poor connections and pledged to give members chances to restore participation.
On the failed amendment, the roll-call result was recorded in the meeting transcript as three votes in favor and five against; on the subsequent vote to approve Policy 006.1 on first reading, the motion carried (majority recorded during roll call).
The policy will move forward as a first reading; no final adoption date was specified at the meeting.
