By Shelby Grossman, Esmeralda Hernandez and Katie Wilcox
Glendale Union High School District serves nearly 16,000 students and, unlike at least 114 other school districts in Arizona, does not record its public school board meetings. Multiple Glendale voters who cast ballots in the state’s recent primary election said that should change.
The district’s practice of not recording stood out in an investigation this May from The Beam, “Press Record, Press Delete.” The Beam found that 57% of Arizona school districts record their board meetings. Thirty-nine percent of districts — including very small districts — not only record but also post the video online for anyone to watch. Glendale Union, with almost 16,000 students, does not record.
“Everything said in a public forum on behalf of the people should be recorded,” said Jim Weightman, who was voting at Glendale Community College with his son James, who also thought the meetings should be recorded.
The Beam reached out to all members of the Glendale Union High School District board to ask them if the district plans to record board meetings going forward. No board member responded to that question, but Gabriel Gamiño Guerrero, the Executive Director of Community Relations for the district, stated the board already takes actions to attempt to hear from more constituents and may be open to additional change.
“The Board continually reviews its practices and will continue to evaluate opportunities to enhance transparency, public access, and community engagement,” Guerrero said. “We appreciate hearing from our community and value that feedback as part of that ongoing process.”
Antoinette Downey, a Glendale voter, said she “would like to see everything more open.” Memphis James, a Glendale Community College student, said: “I feel like them not recording it is not okay. I feel people should know what’s going on, especially in this area.”
The Beam told some voters at last week’s primary polls that some districts that do not record have said they cannot afford the technology.
“I don’t buy that at all,” Jim Weightman said, adding that the technology “is not that expensive these days.”
James Weightman said cost was no excuse. “There’s no real reason not to record it. Technology is cheap. It’s everywhere,” he said. “You don’t need to have a $100,000 crazy setup. You can record it with an iPhone.” The failure to record, he added, is “an accountability problem.”
Update (July 30, 2026): This story has been updated to reflect the full name of Glendale Union High School District spokesperson Gabriel Gamiño Guerrero. After publication, Gamiño Guerrero clarified that when he described his July 22 email as providing “the district’s response,” he intended that response to also represent the Governing Board, rather than the district alone.