March 8, 2022 By Carol Britton Meyer
While the School Committee is eager to return to in-person meetings sooner rather than later, the current plan is to go with a hybrid option to ensure continued accessibility for those who are unable to attend in person.
While some parents have indicated a strong interest in a return to in-person meetings, others say remote meetings provide an opportunity for people to participate when otherwise it would not be possible to do so. A hybrid option would accommodate both preferences.
Chair Kerry Ni explained during Monday's remote School Committee meeting that Harbor Media recently provided a number of coverage options for local government meetings, including live on HM TV from specific meeting rooms; live on Harbor Media TV and Zoom; and live on HM TV with online streaming from a remote location -- and explained each one.
The preferred option among School Committee members was patterned after a successful hybrid model implemented by the Town of Middleborough. This would involve the School Committee meeting in person, along with remote participation access livestreamed on the Harbor Media YouTube channel while airing live simultaneously on Harbor Media's cable TV government channel.
YouTube would provide an accessible way for people interested in the meetings to participate even if away from home on business, vacation, or for other reasons and therefore unable to watch a meeting on the local cable TV channels.
The YouTube link would be posted on the town website, and questions could be submitted via YouTube Comments or live via a special email address that would be monitored by a School Committee member and brought up during the meeting.
Check the town website for School Committee agendas to find out when this new option will go into effect if all goes as planned.
"I'm looking forward to meeting with you all [fellow Committee members] in person again!" Ni said.