Media Guidelines

The Belton School District recognizes the important role the media plays in reporting news and information about its educational programs, services, students and employees. The District’s Communications Department assists the media by providing information about the Belton School District. The department is committed to working with the media and making every effort to work within media deadlines.

Media Requests

All requests to interview, film, or photograph district employees, students, or board members should be made with:

Mickie Plummer-Shepheard, District Communications Specialist

Direct line: 816-489-7014; Cell phone: please email or call to request

The Communications Department will provide, when feasible and appropriate, a representative who can best address the topic of the interview. Media interviews or photographs with students require parental consent. When requests for student interviews are granted, the interview is conducted at a district-designated site to minimize the loss of instructional time and disruption to the learning environment.

While Visiting the District

Media who want to film, photograph, or interview Belton School District employees, students, or board members are asked to make a request through the Communications Department. When filming (live or taped), taking a still photograph, or conducting interviews while in the school district, a district representative will accompany the media at all times to minimize disruption at the school and to assist with any additional requests. As a safety and security measure, the media, like all visitors to Belton School District buildings, are asked to sign in and obtain a visitor's pass. Passes are available in the front office of each of the District’s buildings.

Board of Education Meetings

The media is invited to attend all open meetings of the Belton School District Board of Education. The media may film and/or record these meetings. To avoid disruption of the meeting, reporters and photographers are asked not to approach board members, guest speakers, or members of the audience inside the boardroom during the meeting. Interviews must be conducted outside the boardroom in the hall or in a pre-arranged conference room. Copies of the board agenda, informational items, and other meeting materials are available online on the Board’s e-governance site, which can be accessed via the District’s website.

Emergencies

It is the District’s practice to work as cooperatively as possible to supply timely information to the media on the emergency and its impact on students, teachers, or staff members, provided the release of information does not jeopardize the emergency response activities, or conflict with federal privacy laws, the well-being of our students or employees, or the concerns of their families. During an emergency, media will not be allowed inside the affected school building(s). Media will be assigned to a designated external area at the site of the emergency to allow full access to the site by emergency response teams.

During an emergency, all media calls are referred to the Communications Department to allow the crisis response team at the site to give full attention to relief efforts. The District will work as quickly as possible to provide accurate information to the media through a spokesperson, written releases, or news briefings.