By Tanisha Agrawal, Staff Reporter

Tredyffrin/Easttown Television, the school district’s television station, livestreamed the Oct. 25 regular school board meeting for the first time from Conestoga’s cafeteria.

In the past, TETV recorded in-person meetings and uploaded them to its YouTube channel and website a few days later. However, the public expressed interest in live-telecasting the meetings, as done during the pandemic when the board held its meetings online. 

The policy committee analyzed the logistics, costs and feasibility and also took into consideration the legal requirements regarding livestreaming meetings. In late June 2022, it passed the resolution 9-0. This decision only pertains to regular school board meetings, not committee meetings.

“We are really excited about this, and it is a great addition to the work the board is doing. We can’t wait to see how it works,” school board member Michelle Burger said.

The motive behind this decision was to ensure that people who cannot make it to in-person meetings still have the opportunity to listen in live. However, to ensure only verified residents and taxpayers participate in the public comment section, those who wish to speak must do so in person. Additionally, emails will not be read aloud during board meetings.

“Livestreaming makes the board meetings more accessible and enables a wider audience to be involved in the school community. I appreciate it,” said Hyunsoo Kim, a T/E Middle School parent.

The livestreams are available on the district’s YouTube channel, TETV.net, Comcast Channel 20 and Verizon Channel 14. Mike Baskins, the TETV supervisor, finds that there isn’t any major addition to his job, except “one more mouse button to click.”

However, according to Baskin, there are potential problems that may impede livestreaming. Alongside rudimentary network and internet issues, if a school board meeting is to take place outside of Conestoga’s cafeteria, it poses a problem as the broadcasting infrastructure is set up only in the high school. 

There has been an increase in expenditure because live-streaming on Verizon and Comcast costs additional money. Currently, the exact spending is unknown, but Burger believes the school board will soon have numbers. 

The board, as Burger noted, eagerly awaits feedback from the community.

Tanisha Agrawal can be reached at [email protected].