School Board member backs idea of putting more meeting information online

Making the actions of the Greenfield School Board more transparent by putting background information for board agenda items on the district's website was suggested by board member Cathy Walsh on Monday.

"It would help people decide if they want to attend the meetings," Walsh said.

She noted that many districts and municipalities already provide background documents and some also stream meetings on the Internet.

"These kinds of things really help the public understand what's going on," Walsh said.

In her 18 years on the board, one of the major complaints she has heard is that people feel that decisions have been slid past them and that they have been left out, Walsh said.

"The more information we provide, the less criticism," she said.

Walsh brought up the possibility during a discussion of the city's website provider contract, so it was not on Monday's agenda. But Walsh said she would push for a full School Board discussion.