Censoring the Public
It was disheartening last week to learn of the Sag Harbor School Board’s decision to end video recordings for local public television broadcast and on-demand viewing of the public comment portion of its meetings.
According to an account in The Sag Harbor Express, the board, by a 4-to-3 vote, opted to allow recording only of matters on the board’s agenda, cutting off the cameras when anyone in the audience stands up to speak on matters of their concern. The reason offered was that someone might say something that, if replayed, could get the board in legal hot water. That, of course, is utter nonsense: Elected boards have an almost zero chance of losing a lawsuit for anything said during a meeting regardless of how off-base it may be. We can’t help but wonder what might be next — failing to keep accurate records of what the public has to say or banning reporters?
If there is any doubt about the motivation behind this it is dispelled by proponents of the change, who said the district’s attorney had advised them to stop recording meetings altogether. From that, one can conclude that the real reason some members of the school board want to cut off public access to information is to reduce the chances that something controversial or embarrassing gets noticed or repeated.
The liability issue is a smokescreen to disguise the fact that at least a majority of the board would like to do the public’s business without the public watching. This is a dreadful idea that should not be allowed to spread.