SMCISD Approves Live Streaming Board Meetings, Postpones Televising

Officials plan to start live streaming on the Internet by next month’s meeting. Research will be conducted in the meantime to determine the cost of moving the broadcast to television.

Greg Hubenak, director of technology for SMCISD, presented research that gave insight into the cost of streaming services. His analysis detailed the financial cost of buying equipment, sustaining it and hiring personnel.

Lupe Costilla, board member, thought the board spent enough time deciding how to proceed.

“We have been weighing this issue for what seems like a long time,” Costilla said. “We have waited long enough, and we need to move forward and try this out.”

Miguel Arredondo, public administration senior, thought it was time to make a decision on the issue of  live streaming.

“Two years ago the city offered the school board to meet for free at city hall,” Arredondo said. “We should have been doing this two years ago.”

Arredondo said making the meetings more accessible to the public would be worth the cost.

“If we can spend $800,000 for a scoreboard (at San Marcos High School), spending $50,000 to engage our community is well worth it,” Arredondo said.