Parents, property-taxpayers and local residents who can’t get to the Montclair Board of Education’s public meetings will be able to view the sessions in the comfort of their own homes on the local municipal access cable television.
Schools Superintendent Frank Alvarez announced that all of the board’s future public meetings will be taped by TV-34 crews for broadcast by the community cable operation.
The disclosure came during the board’s meeting earlier this week, during which Board President John Carlton welcomed TV-34 Station Manager Sharon Colucci to its biweekly meeting held in the second-floor conference room of its headquarters at 22 Valley Road.
Colucci set up a video camera and taped the three-hour session for broadcast on TV-34 later this week.
The board’s announcement was greeted enthusiastically by 2nd Ward Township Councilman Cary Africk, who is one of several local elected officials who have urged board members to televise their meetings as the Township Council has been doing now for many years.
Carlton said the video coverage of the meetings was one of the recommendations made by a committee that he appointed only two weeks ago. The committee, which included board members Shirley Grill, Shelley Lombard and Ron Riddick, was requested by Cartlton to explore ways in which the Montclair School District could improve and expand its communications effort.
In addition to board meetings, Alvarez said he hoped TV-34 will be able to televise high school football games and other athletic competitions as well as other public school events.
The push to televise board meetings began earlier this year, after TV-34 launched its live coverage of the Township Council’s Tuesday evening public meetings. To help make the broadcasts possible, the council installed new television lighting and a wall- and ceiling-mounted camera system in the chambers.
During the Board of School Estimate budget deliberations last winter, then-Mayor Ed Remsen suggested that the Board of Education shift its meetings to the Township Council Chambers in the Municipal Building at 205 Claremont Ave. to take advantage of the new broadcast setup.
TV-34’s control room is located adjacent to the Council Chambers.
TV-34 is Montclair’s municipal access channel. It broadcasts community-related programming and public service announcements for the township government, as well as for educational and nonprofit organizations.
Carlton said he wants the board meetings to remain public forums which people can attend and get information about activities in the school district. He also said it is important that the public have an opportunity to speak. Each meeting has two 30-minute blocks of time set aside for public comment.
Under his leadership, the board conducts public meetings every other week from the start of the school year in September through the end of June, taking off for the summer months.
In addition to formal public votes on new policies, contracts and the hiring of new staff members, the meetings include reports from Schools Superintendent Frank Alvarez and updates on school issues from the district’s administrative staff.
The taped broadcasts of the board’s public meetings was just one of the committee’s recommendations.
Alvarez reported that the Montclair School District’s Web site, www.montclair.k12.nj.us, will be expanded to include a news ticker.
"We’ll have a crawl that will carry news updates and other information," Alvarez explained. "The crawl will allow us to alert parents to things like school closings or to provide information on breaking issues."
Alvarez announced that, beginning with its meeting of Monday, Nov. 1, the board will relocate its public session to the George Inness Annex on the campus of Montclair High School.
"The move to Inness will allow us to better comply with the Americans for Disabilities Act," Alvarez said. "The parking situation should also be easier with all of the parking spaces at the High School."
