Freedom of Speech or a Violation of Trust
During the March 26th Charles County Board of Education (CCBoE) work session a long-smoldering topic flared when Vice-Chair Bobbie Wise complained about the public receiving information on blogs before it’s officially announced by the board itself. To Ms. Wise, using a blog to announce CCBoE decisions is unacceptable and unethical. Furthermore, Wise wants to establish some sort of punishment for a board member who reports board business on a blog.
Ms. Wise was referring to the posting of a past blog item which announced the selection of the board’s Chair and Vice-Chair during the recess of that public board meeting. Board member Jennifer Abell posted this information in a local political blog site, but only after it was announced during the public meeting and therefore already public information. The timing of the blog update seemed irrelevant to Wise. Ms. Wise did not respond to The Bay Net’s questions to her about this issue.
Her objection to board member blogging seems unfounded since Ms. Abell did not post confidential material. It was simply an announcement of the results, no different from what the Chair announced later. From an ethical standpoint, the reason for the Vice-Chair’s ire seems not only unclear but also at odds with board members’ campaign promises to be more open with county parents.
CCBoE Attorney Eric Schwartz, at one moment, advised the board that the First Amendment protects Ms. Abell’s freedom of speech. In the next moment however, Schwartz advised Chairman Wade that one method of punishment would be to “overlook a board member during meetings by not calling on them for comments.”
According to The Bay Net’s observation during CCBoE meetings, Ms. Abell is the only board member who raises her hand and waits to be called on by Chairman Wade before voicing a comment. Other members simply blurt out their comments in turn.
Perhaps the most ironic part of this story is that Ms. Abell began blogging after attending a workshop about blogging usefulness at a National School Board Association (NSBA) conference. Recently, Christina Gordon, NSBA Manager of Communications, invited Ms. Abell to contribute to the NSBA’s official blog Board Buzz. In fact, Ms. Abell was also just invited to join the panel of presenters for the blogging workshop in next year’s NSBA conference.
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Are Official Channels of Information Good Enough?
Is this situation rare? Is this same scenario being repeated over the country? Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has a blog, so it seems to be fine for the federal government, but how about small town politics? How about commissioners and school boards?