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Columbus Board Of Education Learns The Importance Of The Mute Button The Hard Way

As more and more people are working from home, Zoom incidents were bound to be on the rise.

From classes to work meetings, a lot of communication is now taking place over video chat platforms like Zoom. We’ve all seen the viral moments. The people who accidentally take their phones into the bathroom. The news anchors not wearing pants. The parodies of all of those things on Saturday Night Live.

If Columbus was feeling left out of the blooper reels and Zoom fail compilation videos, we don’t have to anymore. The Board of Education for Columbus City Schools was meeting virtually on May 18, when at the end of the meeting, a member had some choice words for another committee member during a vote on the district’s Facilities Master Plan.

Treasurer and CFO Stan Bahorek was taking a final vote of the meeting and he instructed members to unmute their microphones to offer their vote when called. When he reached Committee Member Lois Carson, she let out an audible sigh before voting yes. Although you can’t see the committee member on screen, you can hear the man curse at Carson, asking why she is sighing.

“What are you signing for Lois, f***. You’re getting what you want. The f*** is wrong with you?” you can hear him ask.

Lois, who gives off a very, “this ain’t my first rodeo” vibe replies “No, I’m really not, but okay.”

The reactions from the fellow board members on-screen range from concealed laughter to utter shock to a complete lack of interest in the back-and-forth. To be honest, Lois herself doesn’t seem to bothered by the outburst. A few moments after the exchange, a visible warning popped up on the bottom of the call saying “Please remember that this is a public m”. The word is cut off, but we all get the message.

Let’s just take a closer look at those aforementioned reactions.

It turns out, even Columbus City School Board Meetings are educational. This was a masterclass in how not to get caught calling out your colleagues and fellow Zoom meeting attendees. That mute button is your friend, people!

The moment in question starts around the 1 hour 55 minute mark. Watch the full meeting here: