Imagine being told you can’t record what your own government is doing. That’s exactly what happened in Jerome recently, when a reporter was told they couldn’t film a public school board meeting. Think about that: a school board, funded by taxpayers, making decisions that affect families, students, and teachers—telling the press and the public to put their cameras away.

That’s not transparency. That’s secrecy.

To his credit, Superintendent Brent Johnson admitted afterward that the policy was wrong and promised to change it. But here’s the real problem: this wasn’t a one-off. Public officials too often treat “open meetings” as if they’re doing citizens a favor by letting them in the room. That’s not how democracy works. Government belongs to the people, and the people have every right to s

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