School Board candidates discuss attendance boundaries, recording conferences at forum
New attendance area boundaries and the diversity of students and resources were among the topics discussed at a Columbia School Board candidate forum hosted by the Columbia Board of Realtors on Tuesday evening.
Four people are running for three open seats on the seven-member School Board in the April 7 election. Two are incumbents, board president Helen Wade and vice president Jonathan Sessions. New candidates are Christopher Horn and David Seamon. Paul Cushing, whose term ends in April, is not seeking reelection.
David Lile, host of Columbia Morning on KFRU/98.9 FM, moderated the forum, which had about 30 attendees. Several people arrived late due to inclement weather. Candidates for City Council discussed their ideas and platforms at the forum, immediately following the school board candidates.
Recording meetings between parents and teachers was discussed, particularly in regard to students with special needs. The district prohibits recording of parent-teacher meetings. The board has been reviewing its recording policy since September 2019 as parents have expressed their concerns.
Although other meetings typically last 10 to 15 minutes, Individualized Education Program meetings for students with special needs can last nearly three hours, Seamon said. He believes recording should be allowed, given that the parents state their intention to do so.
Horn also advocated for recording the meetings, citing that the terminology used in IEP meetings can be confusing to parents and recording benefits both parents and students. He said the board would work through any potential litigation that may come up.
Wade cited the nuance and complications regarding current and future legislation — federal law requires that parents be allowed to record when necessary. Pending state legislation would allow recordings of IEP meetings.
Sessions suggested providing resources to ease the recording process, as well as creating digital infrastructure for storing the recordings, as they would become part of a student's permanent record.
The candidates also discussed the district's new attendance boundaries, which will begin in August 2020 after being determined by the district and third-party consultant Cooperative Strategies. All candidates agreed with the decision, saying it was a streamlined, data-driven process that maintained strong community involvement, including consistent district focus groups with parents.
Regarding complaints of small areas that stick out from the boundaries in the new map, Seamon suggested providing multiple school options for those who live in those regions.
Other topics discussed were educator pay differentials for certain schools or subjects, balancing transportation and opportunities for students and the distribution of resources to schools that need them.
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