Open or closed: Does it matter?

Soon after I wrote about Superintendent Heath Morrison's decision to keep the meetings of 22 CMS advisory task forces private,  I got a voice mail from retired Col. Thomas P. Graham of Spindale.

"Sometimes,  as a matter of common sense,  meetings should be closed to the public,"  he said.  He added that when I wrote about the meetings being open or closed to the public,  I clearly meant "as a code word  'to reporters.'  "

I understand what the colonel is getting at.  Public attendance at meetings of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools advisory panels and committees is almost always sparse.  Sometimes a reporter or two are the only folks in the audience.  I think we reporters would contend we're there as surrogates for other members of the public, though.  If there's no interest in what the panel is doing,  journalists earn no brownie points for warming a seat.

In this specific case,  Graham is wrong about my  "coded"  message.  I don't want to cover meetings of 22 panels,  even if they're publicized and open,  as two UNC Chapel Hill School of Government professors say the law requires.  The amount of time that would require is mind-boggling.  Covering even a healthy sampling would seriously cut into other projects I'm working on.

What I would like to do is make sure the rest of you know how to attend.

Most of you wouldn't want to.  A few would.  Those few might include people who asked to be appointed but didn't get a spot.  They'd almost surely include people who are passionate  -- some might say obsessed -- with the topics, which include special ed,  gifted students,  African American males,  teacher compensation,  technology and public trust  (read more about the task forces here).

You might find a few devoted CMS boosters in the audience,  and you might find the district's harshest critics.  People who are concerned that Morrison won't listen to the right people,  or that he's setting up the task forces to rubber-stamp what he already plans to do,  might sit in and decide for themselves.

Open meetings don't mean that non-members get to jump in and disrupt discussions.  They do mean any discussion or remark can be reported,  sent online and commented on almost instantaneously.  I understand that might be intimidating to volunteers undertaking a challenging task.  Presumably,  that's what Morrison was thinking of when he said he and the task force leaders agreed the work will be more effective in private.

Morrison also says he'll have CMS staff taking notes and posting summaries.  There will be town hall meetings that allow anyone to meet with task force members,  and opinion surveys for people to weigh in on specific issues.

That's certainly tidier.  But is it democracy?

Morrison has noted  (correctly)  that any report filtered through a journalist is not the whole story.  That's equally true of observations reported by members of the public -- and CMS employees.  The more voices and perspectives,  the fuller the story and the greater the chance that distortions from any source will be challenged.