Community members watching the Austin School Board’s meeting online or on television Monday may have been confused when the district turned off its feed half way during its special meeting.
The reason, AISD says, is because the meeting transitioned from a Board Meeting to a Board Dialogue. According to the school district, its policy is to broadcast board meetings, but not dialogue sessions.
Board members vote on agenda items during meetings, while dialogue sessions are purely discussions between board members and the AISD superintendent. The Board does not vote on issues during dialogue sessions.
The AISD Board met Monday to discuss and vote on a policy related to the $892 million bond package that's up for a vote in May. Afterwards, it held a dialogue session which consisted of a presentation on school funding and a discussion about the future of Eastside Memorial High School.
AISD’s distinction between meetings and dialogues was made more apparent when it had to turn on the web and television feed again after Trustee Lori Moya called for a reconsideration of the bond proposal the Board had approved earlier in the evening.
The reconsideration meant the School Board returned to a Board Meeting, which must be broadcast.
After AISD re-voted on the bond proposal and returned to the Board Dialogue, it turned the feed off again.
People took to Twitter to express their frustration and seek some answers:
