When zoom options were added to the Board of Education meetings for the Edgewater, NJ school district, participation was at is highest because of accessibility. This allowed for more involvement and better transparency. This summer, the decision was made to have in-person meetings only. Due to the time of the meetings, it is often impossible for parents to make it in person as they are getting their children fed and ready for bed. There is also an issue where many families are currently quarantined due to an increase in covid cases in schools. We understand that in person meetings may be more convenient but we ask for the flexibility of having both remote and in person options to the BOE meetings.

Proposal: Someone can have a camera shooting the in person meeting via zoom. Any questions could be held for the end of the meeting or typed in the chat box. BOE will save the last 15 minutes of the meeting for zoom related questions. This process could avoid the need to have a dedicated zoom facilitator as was needed for the fully remote option prior.