BRADENTON -- Community members interested in speaking before the Manatee County School Board will no longer have to rush to the downtown building by 5:45 p.m. on meeting nights because new software will allow prospective speakers to sign up online.
On Tuesday, the Manatee County School Board goes live with new agenda software. In addition to simplifying the process for district employees and board members, it also will eliminate the comment card system the board uses.
Until now, people who wanted to speak during public comment or on a specific agenda item had to fill out a comment card before the start of the meeting. Those cards were collected by district staff, and the board vice chairman has been responsible for keeping track of them and calling up speakers.
Officials hope the digital system will eliminate previous issues, including lost comment cards and late arrivals not being able to speak.
"I think that will be a nice feature," said school board agency clerk Michele Hogan.
When the public looks at the online agenda, there is a now link to sign in and tag the topics individuals would like to address. The system requires people to sign up for a free account.
The district also is in the process of setting up a computer at the district office to allow members of the public to sign if they arrive at the meeting and haven't registered to speak ahead of time.
"We're working toward that," Hogan said.
The new software also will help those in the audience keep track of votes. A new screen installed in the boardroom will display board members' votes, including a photo of the board member and how they voted.
The new software is from Accela, a company headquartered in California with more than 2,000 clients worldwide. Board members will spend the last hour of Tuesday's work session training on the new computer system. As part of the training, the board will go through a mock vote, Hogan said.
The regular meeting is set to start at 5:45 p.m.
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