By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com
The public comment portion of San Benito CISD School Board meetings will be airing again on KSBG-TV Channel 17, the school district’s television station after being removed from the telecasts in 2003.
“It began at the last board meeting,” said School Board President Yliana Rodriguez. “We’re public servants. I just want the school board to be as transparent as possible. I want to make the community aware of all the decisions that we’re making.”
According to Oscar Medrano, the public comment portion of regular board meetings was taken off the air in 2003 as a result of some people getting “a little out of hand” and shouting during the meetings.
“I don’t have any comment on that,” Medrano said when asked for his thoughts on public comments now being aired on KSBG. “If she (Rodriguez) wants to air it, that’s great. Now people can see what actually occurs when board members, employees or even students are sometimes disrespected in a public forum, which I don’t think is acceptable. I do agree that public comment makes us aware of different issues that are healthy, but at times people get disrespected and I don’t think that’s fair. But I do welcome the idea of airing it. Let’s air it so that way people can actually see what happens during public comment at our school board meetings.”
Medrano, however, was vocal about Rodriguez choosing to remove the recitation of the mission statement before every board meeting.
“What I implemented was that we, together with the students and everybody there, read and understand what the mission statement is,” Medrano said. “A lot of times in any organization the people don’t realize how important the mission statement is. I had implemented that as president for us to read all together. She has decided to take that off, so I’m a little disappointed about that.”
According to Rodriguez, the mission statement will still remain visible for the public to see before the board meetings, but it won’t be recited.
“It’s something that we should be cognizant of always, not just during the board meetings,” said Rodriguez. “That’s not the reason why I took it off. It should resonate in our mind day in and day out as we serve the community, not just to say right before the board meeting. One thing I did ask is that it continue to be displayed, but not have to say it together, there’s no reason for that. As far as it being displayed, I don’t have a problem with that. Right before starting the meeting the public can see it. It will continue to be there as a reminder.”
To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the July 10 edition of the San Benito News. Or view our E-Edition by clicking here.
1 comment
They took it off because they don’t want the public to see what goes on and how they never fix the problems. Complaints at the school level go unaddressed and are disregarded, so people get upset.
To the new school board members: Do not let negative people bring you down, be informed, do your best, keep the students’ best interest in mind, their education, and how it affects their future. Stop the compadrismo that these people use to continue to destruct the future of our kids.