Schools Consider Televising Meetings

Conejo Valley Unified School District will take an official look at televising its bimonthly school board meetings.

After listening to parent activist Cheryl Heitmann on Tuesday ask trustees to form a committee to study the matter, President Dolores Didio said board members have directed the superintendent to develop a report outlining options.

“We’re investigating the matter,” Didio said, although she did not say when the issue might be put on the agenda.

When district officials looked into televising the board meetings more than a year ago, estimates ranged from $50,000 to $100,000 to hook up cameras, lights and other wiring in the board’s district headquarters.

“This has been on again and off again for years,” Didio said. “Before, the big problem was money.”

But Heitmann said the expense is necessary.

“To spend the money on involving the community in democracy?” she said. “There’s no question it’s worth the money. . . . The community is obviously interested in education. For many, it’s hard to get [to the meetings]. But if we have the medium--cable TV--I think we should use it.”

Heitmann said she has spoken to representatives from the American Assn. of University Women, PTA Council, District Advisory Council and leaders from the teachers and classified employee unions. Most groups showed interest, she said.

Also, a handful of parents have been taking video classes with TCI Cable to learn how to use cameras and broadcast the meetings. If trustees won’t film themselves, the parents--led by Suzanne Duckett--said their plan is to tape the board meetings themselves.

Over the years, suggestions to film board meetings have included using students from Westlake High School to do the camera work or taping the shows and airing them later. Shirley Cobb, media services manager for the city of Thousand Oaks, also has said the board could rent a room at the Civic Arts Plaza or hire city crews to film the meetings for $900 a night.