Rancho Santa Fe families who watch school board meetings from home may soon lose that option.

The Rancho Santa Fe School District board plans to vote Thursday, Sept. 10, on whether to end Zoom livestreaming of its public meetings. Trustee Paul Seitz proposed the change at the board's Aug. 20 meeting, calling the practice a leftover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The Zoom is more hassle than it is benefit," Seitz said, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. "It was fine for COVID but like anything with COVID, it should go away."

Board vice president Kerry Vinci said typical Zoom viewership tops out at two people per meeting, usually only a reporter. No one offered public comment on the agenda item Aug. 20, and just one person was watching on Zoom.

The district began streaming meetings during the pandemic after Gov. Gavin Newsom suspended parts of the Brown Act, the state law requiring public access to government meetings. Rancho Santa Fe returned to in-person-only sessions in August 2021 but restored Zoom access in September 2022.

Seitz framed the proposal as a push for in-person engagement, not secrecy. He urged residents to "show up, be a part of the community" and "raise your pitchforks" for whatever they want to fight for.

Trustee Kate Butler said she was ambivalent. She said she likes the concept of open access for people who cannot attend in person but want to listen.

Board president Jee Manghani said the board saw more parental involvement when it held morning meetings, because parents could stop in after dropping off children at school. The board shifted to 4 p.m. meetings during the school year in 2024 for student safety reasons, meeting at 9 a.m. only during summer months.

Director of technology Jamil Soltani said staff time for setup is minimal but noted that someone must monitor the feed throughout each session, sometimes physically moving the camera to capture proceedings.

Audio quality has also been an issue. Before the district added a new sound mixer, the Zoom feed was often choppy or had an echo. Audience members who speak away from a microphone still cannot be heard on the stream.

Neighboring districts take different approaches. Solana Beach School District, San Dieguito Union High School District and Encinitas Union School District all livestream board meetings, though public comment must be made in person. Del Mar Union School District does not livestream but posts video recordings online within two days. Cardiff School District, a similarly small two-school district, offers no virtual option.

The Sept. 10 meeting begins at 4 p.m.