Re: "Recorded-voting motion rejected by school board," Feb 15.

When will our local elected representatives understand that recorded votes are an important cornerstone on our democracy and are vital in making these institutions more transparent and accountable to the public?

Newly elected Greater Victoria School Board trustees Diane McNally and Deborah Nohr should be congratulated for pushing to ensure board minutes reflect the voting records of individual trustees. The trustees who voted against this suggestion should be ashamed of themselves.

What are they trying to hide from voters? Other local governments who do not currently record votes should pay attention to this debate.

Working families lead extraordinarily busy lives. All too often, it is next to impossible for an interested voter to be able to attend meetings in person. Steps should be taken to provide more access to these deliberations. At the very least, timely information should be available electronically, and this should include voting records of those we elect.

In the case of the school board, the records they publish on their website on school board minutes are two months out of date when I checked today. The last posted minutes of the board meeting are from last year - Dec. 5, to be exact. The school board deserves a failing grade on public transparency in my books.

Michael Eso

President, Victoria Labour Council Victoria