Mar 24, 2008

School, council meeting won't be televised

President: Board functions better without cameras

By Melanie Carroll / Daily News Staff Writer

When the Los Altos City Council and the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District board meet to talk about hot-button issues including the infamous taco truck at Los Altos High School, the discussion won't be televised.

At least that's where the situation stands today, more than two months before the scheduled meeting.

Typically, the Los Altos City Council airs its City Hall meetings on cable Channel 26. But since the school board requested that the June 9 joint meeting not be televised, the cameras won't be filming any potential debate.

One of the topics slated for discussion is whether the city should change its mobile vendor laws to prevent a taco truck from selling to students at Los Altos High School. The controversial issue first came before council in October.

Board President Judy Hannemann said the school board's meetings have historically not been broadcast, and that the group tends to work better when their sessions are not televised.

"Our meetings are over by 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m.," Hannemann said. "We've been very happy" that way and received no complaints from the public, she said.

In contrast, members of boards that broadcast their meetings often feel they have to elaborate on their actions, taking up a great deal of time, Hannemann said. The school board's meetings "go faster and are more efficient" when the cameras are turned off, she said.

"Believe me, the (school board) is hiding nothing," Hannemann wrote in an email.

The high school district does record its meetings on audiotape, which anyone can listen to, she said.

Los Altos Mayor Val Carpenter said that in planning the joint session, Hannemann asked that the meeting be informal.

"She requested that we not televise it," Carpenter said.

The cost of filming the June 9 meeting would be about $500, said Brian Szabos, the executive director of KMVT, the non-profit community television station in Mountain View that broadcasts the council's twice-monthly night sessions.

The school board is scheduled to formally approve the broadcast-free June joint meeting today.

Council Member David Casas said he's a strong proponent of government transparency, adding that public access to the meetings can enhance the decisions an elected body makes.

Casas aims to have Los Altos City Council meetings available online through streaming video in an effort to further engage the public.



E-mail Melanie Carroll at

mcarroll@dailynewsgroup.com.