CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – For three years, the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board has recorded their meetings and made them available to the public online later. Recently, the board has reconsidered that approach for something more immediate: livestreaming.

In August 2022, the School Board voted to begin recording their meetings, and, since then, CMCSS has published the study sessions and formal sessions 24 to 48 hours after the meeting.

However, board member Aron Maberry said Tuesday that the fastest and most efficient way to reach their online audience is through livestreaming services.

Suggestion returns after 3 years

This isn’t the first time the board has considered livestreaming their meetings. In 2022, former board member Josh Baggett made a proposal to implement live video services into their meetings.

“Six o’clock on a Tuesday night is not really that conducive of a time for (parents) to make those meetings,” Baggett told the board at the time.

“I understand why we meet when we meet, but if you look at the fact if (parents) have other students, they are probably dealing with other things like homework, sports, clubs and dinner. I would feel like having this option would give them the opportunity where they could watch this on their tablet, on the their phone, or on their laptop while doing those activities, or if they need to come back and watch it at a separate time, they can do so as well,” Baggett said.

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Back then, the Communications Department and Technology Department met with Skip Burchett from Montgomery County Government to learn more about their livestreaming system for County Commission meetings. The board ultimately voted to record meetings and post the following day. However, CMCSS did purchase and install equipment that includes livestreaming technology.

Since then, CMCSS has recorded their meetings and taken the time to caption them before publishing the final video online 24 to 48 hours after the meeting.

CART services

On Tuesday, Maberry asked about the costs of livestreaming, and CMCSS spokesman Anthony Johnson explained that since they already had the equipment installed, there would be a recurring cost for Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services, which is a closed captioning service that can be provided on location or remotely.

Essentially, CMCSS livestreaming would have a slight delay as a certified CART specialist who is listening to the meeting provides captions. Much like a court reporter, the CART specialist uses a stenograph machine very quickly (about 250 words per minute), types out the words, sends it back into the stream, aligns with the YouTube video, and live captions are added.

Johnson said CMCSS would need to hire a CART specialist. He added that this is similar to what the County Commission does.

Time for setup and budget amendments

Johnson thanked Burchett for helping CMCSS formulate the livestreaming system, and he provided some ballpark figures based on the county’s system.

“However, I want to be really transparent, that (cost per meeting) was on the higher end of $300, we’re probably closer to maybe $150 depending on how long the meetings are, but we don’t know exact prices until we go out and shop for those quotes.”

Since there are typically two School Board meetings a month, Johnson anticipates a recurring, annual cost of roughly $3,600 to $7,200.

“If we implement this, we need to wait until the next budget year in order to make this a reality,” board member Jimmy Garland suggested. “I have no problem with streaming or the other way it’s being done now.”

Johnson agreed with Garland, stating that CMCSS would ask the board for a little time to prepare if the board decides to start livestreaming.

“Although the hardware is there, they have not tested it yet, and this will also take us a little bit of time to find a CART specialist … and unless you chose to say that it starts July 1, we would have to request budget amendments,” Johnson said.

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