The Richland Two Board of Trustees approved plans to record board meetings and make the videos available to the public on a tape delay basis.
Ken Blackstone, executive director of communications and strategic partnerships in Richland Two, presented to the board during the past three meetings about the costs and benefits of live-streaming board meetings or recording them for replay at a later date.
Ultimately, the board decided that tape-delay broadcasts of board meetings proved more cost-effective and sensible for parents and community members who could not make it to the twice-monthly meetings.
The board unanimously approved Blackstone's proposal and after a few dry runs, board meeting videos will be available on R2TV and the Internet.
The board moved its meeting to Monday because two Richland Two schools, Blythewood High and Kelly Mill Middle, are up for the Palmetto Finest Award Tuesday night.
The board did not take action on any other items Monday night, but did discuss projected revenues for the 2012-13 school year and Superintendent Katie Brochu said a more detailed budget proposal would be ready for the April 10 meeting.
The board will also host the first of two budget hearings before the next meeting, at 5 p.m. on April 10 at Polo Road Elementary School.
Below is a summary of the meeting, prepared by Richland Two Public Information Officer Theresa Riley.
Student Focus
Dent's MathCounts Team, led by Cathy Stinson, will share some of their successful strategies. These efforts have proved a winning combination as they have won the State Championship for four consecutive years.
Facilities Report
Executive Director of Operations Jack Carter updated the Board about ongoing construction projects at Anna Boyd School, Richland Northeast High School, Muller Road Middle, and Elementary School 19. Punch list items at Anna Boyd, Richland Northeast High and Muller Road Middle School are nearly complete. Offsite roadwork is ongoing at Muller Road. Site work at Elementary 19 is expected to be completed next month. Elementary 19 is located on Kelly Mill Road between Hardscrabble and Bud Keef roads.
Update on Current Technology Projects
Executive Director of Information Technology Tom Cranmer updated the Board that Richland Two was recently recognized as the winner of the 2012 Education Innovator award by Weidenhammer Systems for the district’s work in developing modules for the Alio business intelligence system. The implementation of the 1TWO1 computing project is proceeding according to schedule. Step 1 in the upgrade process of the district’s Internet feed is complete. The Sharepoint web portal implementation work is continuing.
Budget Update
Chief Financial Officer Bob Davis reported House Bill 4993, which uses exemptions to reduce the tax rates on manufacturing and business personal property, could potentially result in a $140 million revenue reduction for school districts statewide.
Board Meeting Broadcast Update
After receiving a follow-up report on options, costs and legal implications of the district videotaping and broadcasting public Board meetings, the Board voted to proceed with producing the broadcasts on a tape-delayed basis for R2TV and the Internet.
Report: Revenue Estimate for FY 2012-2012
Chief Financial Officer Bob Davis provided three scenarios of the proposed 2012-13 General Fund Budget based on five, 10 and 15.5 mill increases. The current estimate of a 15.5 mill increase would put the proposed budget at $210,381,773, an increase of $13,367,052 from last fiscal year. The projected base student cost is $2,012.
School Fees and Supplies
The administration presented results of a recent study of student fees and classroom supplies from across the district. The Board will receive additional information on this topic at a future meeting.
