Texting at the board table: What message is being sent?

On Board Online • November 25, 2013

By Jamie P. McPherson
Leadership Development Manager

As a reporter sat in the lobby of an upstate school district office, she heard raised voices coming from a conference room where the school board was holding an executive session. The board president was chastising someone for using a cell phone during the meeting. A board member protested that she was just responding to her child.

“I’m a mom, and it’s second nature to me to be in regular contact with my kids,” the board member said later. “One of them will send me a text, and I send a quick one back. If it bothers people, I won’t do it anymore.”

That was three years ago. But the issue of texting during school board meetings remains a hot one in many boardrooms today.

Last year the New Jersey State School Boards Association polled its members and found 71 percent reported seeing fellow board members texting during school board meetings, and 28 percent confessed that they had sent text messages during meetings themselves.

“The texting issue is coming up more and more during board retreats that we facilitate,” said Barry Entwistle, director of leadership development for NYSSBA.

“Board members tend to be sharply divided on the issue,” Entwistle said. “Many consider it rude, distracting and inappropriate. Those who favor texting say they need to stay in touch because of family or work responsibilities. They believe looking at or typing on cellphones is socially acceptable and part of the ‘new norm.’” 

There is no legal prohibition on board members or school administrators using electronic devices such as cellphones during public meetings, assuming the content of any messages sent or received is purely personal and not connected to school business, according to NYSSBA General Counsel Jay Worona.

“In theory, a board member could use a cellphone or other device to privately discuss board business in a manner that violates the Open Meetings Law or share confidential information during an executive session,” Worona said. “I think most people observing texting during a board meeting would not suspect that anything nefarious is taking place. But perceptions can vary. One person might view the behavior as normal, another might view it as rude and distracting, and a third might wonder if something unlawful is taking place and make inquiries.”

Board members should be aware that text messages sent during a public meeting are considered district records that could be subject to a disclosure under the state’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). That was the opinion of the state Commission on Open Government, which addressed the texting issue in a 2010 advisory opinion. The committee’s advisory opinions do not have the force of law but can be influential when courts or the commissioner of education are asked to rule on disputes involving FOIL and the state Open Meetings Law.

While some people claim to be good at “multitasking,” the Committee on Open Government said special considerations apply when boards are deliberating. “Public bodies must conduct meetings in a manner that guarantees the public the ability to ‘be fully aware of’ and ‘listen to’ the deliberative process,” the committee said in its 2010 opinion. That’s why it is good practice for board members to refrain from “whispering or passing notes” among themselves, according to the committee. “With perhaps minor exceptions involving the receipt of personal or emergency communications, this would also include refraining from transmitting and receiving electronic messages and phone calls,” the committee said.

To read the opinion, go to http://docs.dos.ny.gov/coog/ftext/f18052.html.

Individual school boards have the responsibility to decide what they consider proper use for cellphones during meetings, Entwistle said. While the issue does not require a formal policy, many boards have addressed cellphone usage in a statement of operating procedures, typically approved each July during a reorganizational meeting.

“We’re aware that some boards have banned cellphones from board tables,” Entwistle. Some board presidents begin meetings with reminders to power devices off.

When boards choose to allow cellphones, they should use commonsense etiquette, Entwistle said. Good practices include:

• Set your phone to vibrate at the start of the meeting (or power it off).
• Consider using a setting on your phone to automatically send a reply that lets individuals know that you are in a meeting.
• Avoid placing your phone on the board table, as it’s common for people to check phones for messages even when there has been no indication one was received.
• In general, try to refrain from texting at the table and only do so in an absolute emergency. If you must send a text, either excuse yourself from the board table or wait until an opportune time during the meeting.

Inform the public about special circumstances, Worona said. For instance, a board president might open a meeting by saying, “It’s my understanding that one of our board members has a wife who’s nine months pregnant and another has a relative in the hospital. So while we generally turn off our cellphones during board meetings, please know that tonight is an exception.”  

“I think the biggest risk of using cellphones or just having them visible during board meetings is that it may leave an impression among other board members or the public that you care more about your personal life than the business of the board,” said NYSSBA President Thomas Nespeca, a member of the Webster school board. “Such perceptions, however erroneous, could harm the reputation of the whole board and erode public trust.”

One school board member who responded to the New Jersey poll said he uses his cellphone during meetings not as a communications device but as a personal organizer. “I use my phone for my calendar and sometimes feel guilty that people will think I am texting,” he wrote.

“Texting is just one kind of issue that can arise,” said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer. “How about tweeting during board meetings?”