Should school board members be allowed to use social media?
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As you can see from the relevant portion of a recent ISD 192 School Board meeting above, a discussion occurred which centered around policies regarding social networking and how school board members should be limited from discussing and/or commenting on school board related items.
Two of ISD 192′s school board members said that they do not approve of the use of social networking to discuss school board business with Julie Singlewald going so far as to say, “it’s different than having a conversation with somebody…but when you put it in some sort of electronic format it’s a permanent record.” School board member Timothy Burke, a veteran and prolific social networking user whom I myself follow and converse with semi-regularly, responded with a suggestion that the district and its representatives should be actively engaged in the conversation so as to control the message as best they can by, “playing in the same sandbox,” something which is echoed across the Internet as standard practice.
The social networking “phenomenon” has been around for years and it’s only now that the public sector is finally taking the time to catch up to what’s been blowing by them. With this new technology comes a whole new round of time wasting discussions between administrators who want to limit or outright ban anything that doesn’t fit word for word in their preexisting policy. This has happened time and time again because administrators do not understand that at the most basic level all communication is the same.
Stepping out of the realm of ISD 192, I asked Ramsey County’s Public Communications Director Art Coulson and ISD 196 School Board member (who also frequently posts on this very site) for his thoughts on ISD 192′s dislike of Twitter he responded with:
It’s a free country — why shouldn’t school board members tweet? (keeping in mind that you can’t tweet non-public information like private education data and labor negotiations) We should be communicating more, not less. Government performs best in the full sunlight.
Being a social networking user myself and someone who believes that all government discussions should take place in the open, apparently quite unlike what ISD 192 prefers to do, I could not agree with Mr. Coulson more. Just because school board members feel that ideas, which may or may not be their own, should not be broadcast via the Internet to third parties does not mean that the First Amendment rights of other members should be limited.
So how about you? Do you think that public entities such as school board should be permitted to silence the members of their boards, quite possibly in violation of the First Amendment, just because they do not like what may or may not be their opinions being archived in a permanent format on the Internet but feel that private conversations with others are just fine? How about the amount of time this particular ~15 minute discussion took away from more pressing matters plaguing the district? Whatever you have to say about the Farmington School District Board’s discussion regarding social networking go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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March 11th, 2010 at 10:45 am
ISD 192 School Board Hates Twittering Members: http://bit.ly/909gCB
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
March 11th, 2010 at 10:50 am
“…but when you put it in some sort of electronic format it’s a permanent record.” And that’s a bad thing because…..?
March 11th, 2010 at 10:51 am
I am an avid social networking user (@suzi_mn on twitter) and also sit on my company’s Social Media Advisory Board so I am a big advocate for incorporating social media into businesses communication processes. I get very frustrated when people close off SM as a “toy” and something that shouldn’t be taken seriously. I hope the district comes around on this–and start thinking differently on how to better keep people informed. As a parent, I would be very happy to have some sort of social networking “community” to be part of to share ideas and information with other parents, teachers, board members, etc.
March 11th, 2010 at 10:53 am
AGreed, Bill…
Twitter, and other forms of online communication are just that: forms of communication! I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said this, and it was something I tossed out regularly back when I taught a course on the subject.
TV. Radio. Print. Yacking on the street. The Internet. All forms of communication. None make you any more or less of a dumbass.
March 11th, 2010 at 11:08 am
What word can be used to describe that school board exchange. Asinine? Hilarious? Ignorant?
I believe it was Veronica Walter who mentioned something about “the facts are being distorted”…yep, that happens in 2-page newsletters too.
Actually, the most shocking statement was from Veronica Walter where she referred to potential tweets from other board members that she wouldn’t agree with and said, “It doesn’t represent me and therefore it shouldn’t be out there.” WOW!!! So our state legislators shouldn’t tweet, Facebook, etc. their views because we might think other legislators agree with them?!? That line of reasoning is unbelievable in its ridiculousness.
Also, who else laughed when Bob Heman referred to “Twitters, blogs, etc.” Yes, all of those Twitters I write…nothing like proving you aren’t familiar with what you’re discussing in the first place.
March 11th, 2010 at 11:12 am
Should school board members be allowed to tweet? RT @SouthMetroNews: ISD 192 School Board Hates Twittering Members: http://bit.ly/909gCB
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
March 11th, 2010 at 11:19 am
RT @garciasn: Should school board members be allowed to tweet? RT @SouthMetroNews: ISD 192 School Board Hates Twittering Members: http://bit.ly/909gCB
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
March 11th, 2010 at 11:27 am
Painful to watch, I had to turn it off. The “telephone game?” Is this guy for real?
I’m in #196 and I’d LOVE to be able to follow all board members to learn more about them and their values.
March 11th, 2010 at 11:40 am
I feel that a company, or any entity, public or private needs to have a standard set for communication that hold true across all platforms, online, verbal, press etc.
The last company I was at had a blanket statement of anti-defamation while you were employed with the company, and it also a no-no to discuss internal client related content with a non-employee, or other client.
If you’re going to go against your employers, or groups policy on what you say, or where you say it, then you’ll end up with what you get.
As for any group or employer to squelch an individuals right to the 1st, is complete bullshit. If my employer told me that I could not have a blog, twitter, FB or any other online presence, I would tell them where to stick it, and that I’d be filing a lawsuit.
There needs to be a line set, of what is and is not appropriate conduct, how the content is distributed, is of little concern. You could do similar damage with a single tweet, that might be seen by a small target audience, as you could blanketing a parking lot with fliers defaming someone, or something.
March 11th, 2010 at 11:46 am
ISD 192 actually has a couple of Twitter accounts—one for general district information and another that the athletics department uses to tweet about sporting activities.
The discussion Monday night was on a possible change to board policy, that some members think is a good idea, to proscribe board members from using social media, not just Twitter, to discuss board business.
I think all of the other four board members present Monday thought this was a good idea to some degree or another. A few also recognized it might be very difficult to write a policy like that and perhaps harder still to police or enforce it.
There was no discussion about those other silly issues like whether this comported with our understanding of first amendment rights.
Tim Burke
Farmington School Board member
March 11th, 2010 at 11:48 am
In this particular instance we’re talking about a school board member disagreeing with the use of social media because might not happen to agree with what another member says to the public about an issue. In my opinion that’s exactly what a school board is supposed to be like–a mix of individual opinions which may not see eye to eye. If we were looking for a single opinion on any given topic we’d only have the superintendent running things and the public wouldn’t have input into a bunch of other people to provide ultimate direction.
I watched the portion of the meeting three times now and each and every time I become more annoyed by the fact that a representative of the people does not have a basic understanding of the fundamental rights of this country. Being that this is the same school board that voted to close a meeting to TV viewers so they could have a candid and open conversation, I have to admit that if I lived in the district I’d be calling for their resignations. These are the people directing decisions which impact those who are impressionable and learning–these are not the teachings we want to provide our children with.
March 11th, 2010 at 11:51 am
RT @garciasn: Should school board members be allowed to tweet? RT @SouthMetroNews: ISD 192 School Board Hates Twittering Members: http://bit.ly/909gCB
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
March 11th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
RT @garciasn: RT @SouthMetroNews: ISD 192 School Board Hates Twittering Members: http://bit.ly/909gCB
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
March 11th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Julie needs to get her head out of the ground. Just because you are a member of a “board” doesn’t mean you can not speak independent of the organization. You may need to recuse yourself from certain discussions, and obviously as a individual, you don’t speak for the board that you are a part of. But you can provide public information that came from the board, as well as your own thoughts and opinions. In fact, for a public school I would hope that there was a open exchange of ideas.
For example. As a school board member, there is nothing wrong with you saying that you feel the price of construction for the new high school was too high and perhaps even discussing with someone/everone (in person, in twitter, or on a website) the issues you see that lead up to it. You can even talk about the things you might do to help that not occur in the future.
I hate to say it, but I don’t hold out a lot of hope for the Farmington School district.
March 11th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Trying to restrict people’s social media use is futile. Embrace it; trying to fight it won’t get you anywhere.
March 11th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
I wasn’t able to see the video at work. I’m utterly astonished at the foolishness of some of the board members. i.e. Bob Heman worried that people will make assumptions based on what is said. Isn’t that what people do every day?
The general idea seems to be that some folks on the board wants the board to speak as one, rather than the individuals we elected to represent our values. I wasn’t aware that appropriateness is something we need to worry about at the school board level.
March 12th, 2010 at 12:15 am
RT @garciasn: Should school board members be allowed to tweet? RT @SouthMetroNews: ISD 192 School Board Hates Twittering Members: http://bit.ly/909gCB
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
March 12th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Why should the school board limit this rule to twitter? The proposed rule should be amended to include email and phone conversations with constituents. Better yet, why not make the board meetings private?
If this rule should pass, I expect Tim Burke to tweet during board meetings.
Bullshit does not begin to describe this proposal. Tim, you have my sympathies.
August 22nd, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Hear, Hear, Tim!
Thanks for demonstrating and supporting the 1st amendment and the implied, if not legal, rights of the public to know what board members are thinking. As a fellow board member, I know that we walk a fine line on many complex issues, but open, honest, constructive, and respectful communications are rarely, if ever, dangerous.
I share the blogosphere and Twittersphere with you and a small number of other Pennsylvania board members. We all adhere to standards of decorum as well as provide open disclaimers regarding what is appropriate communications.
It is not only plausible, but a regular occurrence, that such communications take place, and I encourage those that believe otherwise to actually experiment with the technology, observe the technology in use by others, and recognize that these are truly just different forms of communication. (This is also not about what I had for breakfast, a common misconception.)
Conversations at the grocery store are just as likely to be misquoted (I believe far more likely) in a “whisper down the lane” mode, and when I can go on record in a clear, careful, productive way, I will gladly do so.
I believe leaders show respect for those being lead when they take the time to share their thoughts and to show openness to hearing the thoughts of others. I have yet to find any board member who does not adhere to these principles in their online communications, or any who believe they are not better off for it. Even in disagreement, there can be respect and trust.
I truly hope that ISD 192 considers its position deeply and supports a steady expansion in their willingness to communicate and to share their thoughts in the community and marketplace of ideas. (Heck, you already publish your email addresses, which places you amongst fairly small company already.)
To be sure, as a sitting board member, I know I don’t have all the solutions, so I welcome any help I can get.
Best Wishes and Good luck,
Jim Butt
Director
School District of Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania