This article was written by Kevin Richert with Idaho Education News.
The board continued to meet Monday afternoon even though its live Facebook video stream failed. The stream was the only method available for the public to watch the two-hour meeting.
“This was an inadvertent mistake and after consulting with the office of the attorney general, we are working to schedule a special board meeting to correct this,” State Board President Debbie Critchfield said in a news release Tuesday.
A date for the new meeting has not yet been set.
State law allows a public agency to acknowledge an open meeting violation and “cure” the violation by holding a second meeting. At that time, the agency can vote again on any items taken up during the original meeting.
The board voted on three “action items” Monday — including a failed bid from state superintendent Sherri Ybarra, who was hoping to retain jurisdiction over 18 IT and data management positions. The 2020 Legislature moved those positions from Ybarra’s State Department of Education to the State Board, and on Monday, the board upheld lawmakers’ decision.
For weeks, during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the State Board has used virtual platforms to conduct weekly business. A State Board spokesman provided Idaho Education News with a dial-in number to listen to Monday’s meeting, and video from the meeting is now posted on the State Board Facebook page, but Critchfield said the board will schedule a do-over as soon as possible.
“We learned a lesson Monday night about taking technology for granted and we won’t let that happen again,” she said.
