Following pressure from the public, media and its own board of directors, the Florida High School Athletic Association has changed its stance on streaming Friday’s board of directors meeting.
FHSAA officials announced Monday afternoon that live video from its upcoming board meeting will be available online. At the meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, the board will vote on how to proceed with sports for the 2020-21 school year in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
FHSAA executive director George Tomyn said last week the meeting in Gainesville would not be streamed but would be open to the public, but access will be severely limited because of Alachua County’s social-distancing guidelines. Only 50 people are allowed in the room, and more than 20 of those attendees will be board members and FHSAA staff.
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On Thursday, board president Lauren Otero emailed FHSAA executive director George Tomyn requesting that live video from the meeting be streamed online. Tomyn sent a one-sentence reply denying the request with no explanation.
“The August 14, 2020 FHSAA Board of Directors meeting is not going to be broadcast via YouTube,” Tomyn wrote in the email obtained by the USA TODAY Network – Florida.
Douglas Dodd, president-elect of the board of directors, said Tomyn notified members via email that the meeting will be streamed.
“I believe that transparency is a good thing and that people should have the ability to view the meeting live as there is so much interest in the decisions that will be made,” Dodd told the Naples Daily News in an email.
Escambia County Athletic Director Roger Mayo said he supports the meeting being visible to the public eye.
"As of Friday, it wasn't going to be livestreamed," Mayo said. "I think any kid of decision of that magnitude should be open to viewing by the constituents."
FHSAA spokesperson Ashton Mosley said in an email that details of the livestream are still being worked out, and that the FHSAA will make an announcement when details are set.
The board of directors' virtual meetings on July 20 and July 23 were streamed live on YouTube. The meetings have 41,517 views combined.
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Prior to the decision to livesteam the meeting, media around the state wondered if the FHSAA was violating the state’s open meetings law that it holds itself to by limiting access to Friday’s meeting.
The Florida Sunshine Law ensures all government proceedings and records are open to the public. The FHSAA is not a government entity, but the organization’s constitution states “All FHSAA meetings are conducted in compliance with the Florida Sunshine Law. All records are subject to the Florida Public Records Law.”
The USA TODAY Network – Florida submitted a public records request to the FHSAA asking for emails discussing the location of Friday’s board meeting. The FHSAA has not responded.
Tomyn did not respond to an email seeking comment for this story. However, he told the Orlando Sentinel on Friday that the meeting does not violate Sunshine Law because it is open to the public, even though public seating will be limited.
“I’m not trying to avoid anything,” Tomyn told the Sentinel. “This is how we decided to do things because this is the customary arrangement for our meetings. Of course the social-distancing requirements mean we cannot accommodate as many people, but this is our standard meeting procedure. We’re an athletic association, not a broadcasting company.”
The FHSAA it is taking public input through email. Questions and comments can be emailed to questions@fhsaa.org and will be read to the board.
Mosley said members of the public will be allotted time to speak at the meeting using an online sign-up sheet. She did not say if people must be there in person to speak or if they could do so remotely.
“They are going to take public input,” said FHSAA board member and Merritt Island High School athletic director Jeff McLean. “I do know we have a big task ahead of us.”
Added board member Richard Finlayson, principal of Aucilla Christian Academy: “I know (the FHSAA is) trying hard but it’s just challenging circumstances for sure. It will be open for public input, but how many people will be allowed in the meeting room, I don’t know the answer to that.”
— Pensacola reporter Brian Achatz, Florida Times-Union reporter Clayton Freeman, Lakeland Ledger reporter Roy Fuoco, Tallahassee Democrat reporter Jim Henry, and Florida Today reporter Brian McCallum contributed to this article.
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