Spokane Public Schools board meetings are open to the public again, but the hybrid model may be here to stay

Like the schools it supervises, the Spokane Public Schools board of directors is going hybrid – and it might do so permanently.

After a year of holding meetings only on Zoom, the board opened its doors to the public for Wednesday night’s meeting.

No one took the board up on its offer, but now the public has a choice, board President Jerrall Haynes said.

“Hopefully we can grow from there,” Haynes said.

With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions on public meetings, the district has moved to a hybrid system in which board members, staff and the public have the option to participate virtually or in person at the district’s downtown offices.

However, social distancing requirements are still in force, Haynes said.

“We only ask that you sign up in advance,” said Haynes, noting that district personnel would open the doors.

Changes may happen anyway, pending legislation in Olympia.

During the pandemic, Gov. Jay Inslee has prohibited in-person government meetings unless they limit capacity, keep attendees at least 6 feet apart and require masks.

Inslee’s order also requires that the public be able to listen remotely by telephone.

A bill, sponsored by Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-Seattle, would put the remote public-access provisions into state law during declared emergencies and require more public entities to post their meeting agendas online.

The bill, HB 1056, also would require that the public be allowed to comment at any regular meeting – remote or live – where final actions are taken.

“It’s been very much of a surprise to people to learn (during the pandemic) that there is no right under the state open-meetings act for the public to comment at public meetings,” Pollet said earlier this month.

The bill has already passed the House and is being debated in the Senate.

The growing popularity of Zoom meetings has stimulated citizen participation in public meetings of all types.

“In a way, this is kind of helping move us toward a country where citizens can be more involved in their government through Zoom, and that’s a good thing,” said David Cuillier, an associate journalism professor at the University of Arizona who is president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition.

Haynes has seen that play out at board meetings, where participation and observation have risen sharply during the pandemic.

“We’ve heard that it’s so much more convenient, that students and families are more able to participate,” Haynes said.