Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / PML / Image: Submitted by anonymous / Members of the public who wish to attend future Chilliwack school board meetings will now need photo ID with them as they complete a brief two-item checklist, and provide their phone number, before they are allowed to watch and participate in future school board meetings. Such forms are not necessary to attend Chilliwack City Council, Cultus Lake Park Board or Fraser Valley Regional District meetings.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Chilliwack school board meetings

Photo ID, completion of form now required to attend Chilliwack school board meetings

Mar 1, 2023 | 1:50 PM

CHILLIWACK — Fraser Valley Today has learned that members of the public who wish to attend future school board meetings of the Chilliwack Board of Education must now have photo ID, provide their phone number, and fill out a brief two-item form in order to watch and participate at the school district office.

SD33 Superintendent Rohan Arul-pragasam confirmed in an email Wednesday (Mar. 1) that Chilliwack residents who wish to watch school board meetings in person will be required to have photo ID with them and affirm the following two statements:

“I acknowledge that this is a Public Board Meeting that is livestreamed and recorded for public viewing; I acknowledge that no other video/audio recordings are permitted with the exception of authorized media.”

Attendees must check mark both boxes.

Image: Supplied by anonymous.

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Arul-pragasam said the policy of filling out the form aligns with SD33 Policy 170, which outlines the district’s guidelines on publicly recorded meetings.

Pertaining to the prohibition on all cell phones or tablets recording school board members during a meeting, Policy 170 states, “There shall be no recording of tablet screens or digital resources used at the Board of Education table, excluding public presentation materials.”

Further, the school board reserves the right to halt the recording of a meeting if recording creates a disturbance.

“While it is the Board’s intent to live stream and make available recorded Regular Public Board meeting proceedings, the Board, at its discretion, may discontinue the recording of a meeting at any time at the discretion of the Board Chair, if recording is creating any impediment to conducting the meeting in an efficient or orderly fashion,” Policy 170 states.

Chilliwack City Council, Cultus Lake Park Board, and Fraser Valley Regional District do not require people attending their meetings to bring photo ID, provide their phone number, and fill out the two-item checklist.

Just like security guards were utilized by SD33 at its last meeting on Tuesday, February 21, security personnel will be present at future Chilliwack school board meetings moving forward, Arul-pragasam confirmed.

A separate entrance for SD33 partner groups, like Chilliwack Teachers Association or District Parent Advisory Council, will not be available moving forward.

The mandate to sign the form, along with the presence of security guards, follows a contentious school board meeting on Tuesday, February 7 where former trustee Dr. Darrell Furgason clashed with current school board chair Willow Reichelt.

Furgason, who served on the school board from 2018-2022, repeatedly pressed the school district for answers about the legality of sexually explicit materials in SD33.

School board chair Willow Reichelt flatly denied the allegation there are illegal materials in SD33 and called the claims defamatory, before shutting off Furgason’s mic on at least two occasions and calling for him to leave the meeting.

The meeting recessed at one point for a little over 10 minutes to quell the fireworks.

Footage from the February 7th meeting has been circulating on Twitter under the hashtag of Chilliwack throughout February.

It’s also one of the reasons why SD33 has posted a document called “Norms for Public Participation” on its website where the board agenda is posted. The document outlines what it considers acceptable comment within the two public participation periods of 15 minutes each at each board meeting.

For example, speakers are permitted two minutes each, must state their full name and their relation to SD33, and are required to be timely and courteous. Comments that are deemed discourteous or not aligned with the school board agenda could be met with an admonishment from the school board chair.