AURORA | For the first time since the pandemic, Cherry Creek School District live-streamed their board of education meeting Monday night.
The long-awaited livestream comes as Colorado lawmakers work on a proposed bill that would require that local government meetings be more accessible, including people with disabilities.
The topic of live-streaming the meetings was also often a topic of conversation during the last election cycle. Board Members Angela Garland and Anne Egan won their re-election campaigns. They were challenged by two community members who strongly advocated for live-streaming the meetings.
The board hosts their monthly board meetings at different schools and does not have a central meeting location. Meetings are sometimes hosted in gymnasiums. Other times, they’re located in a cafeteria. The inconsistent meeting locations were often cited as one of the reasons why the district could not live-stream their meetings.
The meeting April 8 was held at Campus Middle School. Inside, two cameras were set up on either side of the cafeteria. One was set up in the middle, facing the board directors.
The district live-streamed the meeting through Microsoft Teams. The live-stream lagged behind the in-person meeting, but otherwise went smoothly.
Before, the school district would only record the audio of the meetings and post it online the following day.
Video recordings of the live-streamed meetings will be available on the school district website at www.cherrycreekschools.org, according to school officials.
The next Cherry Creek Board of Education meeting is on May 13 at Thunder Ridge Middle School. That meeting will also be live-streamed.