Palm Beach Post by Adam Fisher Pensacola News Journal
August 10, 2020
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, although no agenda has been released.
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.
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 Monday 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.