Photo/Video Assignment: Board Business Meeting [IN-PERSON ONLY]

Whitney Young PreK-8 School, 17900 Harvard Ave, Cafetorium, Cleveland, OH 44128 (Directions)

For this assignment, we are asking you to document this CMSD Board of Education business meeting with photos and video. We may use your photo in our summaries of Documenters’ work, or elsewhere on the Signal Cleveland site.

What you will capture in photos and video:

• Scenes of the room
• City representatives presenting and answering questions
• Council members asking questions
• The audience watching the hearings
• Anything of note that happens when you are in the room

What you’ll submit:

• 15-20 photos of the hearing.
• 3 videos of the hearing (min. 60 seconds, max. 5 minutes)
• A list of your photos with the names of people in each photo (to the best of your ability)

Hours and pay:

• This is a** 2 hour assignment** that starts when the meeting begins.
• You do not need to stay longer than 2 hours. But, you are welcome to.
• Pay for this assignment is fixed at 6 hours total (2 meeting hours + 2 for prep and review + 2 hours for in-person)
• Total pay for this assignment is fixed at $108.

For this assignment:

• You will need to attend this meeting** in-person** in the Cafetorium of Whitney Young PreK-8 School (17900 Harvard Ave Cleveland, OH 44128)
• You will need to present a photo ID to enter City Hall.
• You will need a mobile phone with the ability to take high resolution photos and video, OR
• A camera with the ability to take high resolution photos and video.

How to submit: You will submit your photos, video and names document in the “Documents” section of your assignment page (linked in the “you next assignment” email):

• Click the button that says “Add document.”
• For photos, click the “Image” link in the drop down menu, and select “Choose a file” to upload an image. Do this for every image you are submitting. Enter a caption for each image that includes the names of the people in the image.
• For video, click “File” link in the drop down menu, and select “Choose a file” to upload a video. Do this for every video you are submitting.
• Don’t forget to complete your assignment checklist!

Some photo/video resources:

• Here are a few tips on taking photos and video from the Documenters Field Guide.
• How to take awesome pictures with your phone camera (WikiHow)
• How to shoot a video (WikiHow)

Some tips for taking photos and videos in a public meeting:

• Under the Ohio Open Meetings Act, you are absolutely allowed to document local government meetings with photos and video.
• In general, try to get as close to the table as you can to get shots of individuals, as well as the whole group.
• You may have an easier time shooting from the ends of the table.
• However, you may be told that you cannot record from certain positions in the room.
• If you’d like, we can provide you with a Documenters badge to identify yourself as a Cleveland Documenter.
• If asked about your presence at the meeting, feel free to use this language: I am a Greater Clevelander trained to document public meetings in the public interest. My work as a Cleveland Documenter is published in partnership with Signal Cleveland.

The Board of Education functions as the governing body of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Board responsibilities include: hiring the school district chief executive officer (with the mayor’s agreement); setting school district policy; approving the school district budget; establishing goals and accountability standards; and promoting parent, family, and community involvement in the schools.

**Note: **The board is set to vote on the district’s deficit reduction plan in this meeting. CEO Warren Morgan laid out the plan recently as the school district faces projected budget deficits in the coming years.

Learn more:

• https://signalcleveland.org/cmsds-168-million-budget-hole-cleveland-schools-propose-cuts-to-out-of-school-programs-layoffs-in-central-office/

• https://signalcleveland.org/cmsd-ceo-warren-morgan-lays-out-deficit-reduction-plan-for-schools/

• https://signalcleveland.org/mayor-bibb-says-he-did-not-foresee-the-scale-of-cmsd-budget-hole-until-new-ceo-took-over/

• The board has two types of meetings: a work session and a business meeting. Work sessions focus on information gathering and debate on issues and proposed resolutions. Business meetings focus on holding official votes on resolutions.

• The board can have up to nine voting members, all of whom are appointed by the mayor.

Current board members:

• Sara Elaqad, chair
• Leah D. Hudnall, vice chair
• Robert Briggs
• Robert M. Heard
• Midori Lebrón
• Diana Welch Howell
• Denise W. Link
• Nigamanth Sridhar

The CEO of the school district is Warren Morgan II.

Check the source website for additional information