District 220 board will keep recording its meetings

Even though no Nielsen Ratings have been factored in, school board members in Barrington Area Unit District believe televising their meetings has been a success.

With one year of televising meetings under their belts, board members Tuesday decided to continue the practice for now.

"I have been pleasantly surprised with how many people have said they are watching," said Brian Battle, school board president.

Last summer, the board decided to start recording the meetings so they could later be televised on local cable access Channel 97. The recordings are available for viewing about 48 to 72 hours after the meeting.

School board member Jeff Nordquist said he felt televising the meetings has been beneficial, if for nothing else than to show the community that the board's work is open for everyone to see.

"I think the transparency is the best part," Nordquist said.

The major complaint Superintendent Tom Leonard said he has gotten has been regarding the sound quality.

"It is critical that board members wear their (microphones) because for some people it is hard to hear," he said.

Another problem, Leonard said, is that not everyone in the school district receives local cable access Channel 97.

He said only Comcast customers in Barrington, North Barrington and Lake Barrington receive the channel.

With that in mind, Leonard said they are looking into posting the meeting recordings on the district's Web site.

He said the district would need to spend about $15,000 for that to be possible.

"That would get us a special server dedicated to this," Leonard said. "That is something we are still exploring."

Steve Yost, the district's audio-visual technician, said a DVD of the recordings is available to all residents by contacting the district and a copy is always available at the Barrington Area Library.

The board decided to continue televising the meetings through at least next fall, when a survey on the issue will be conducted.