NORTH BEND - Jean McNamar says she only comes out of retirement when things get bad.

Apparently, the former North Bend High School teacher feared the North Bend School District was heading into trouble when she appeared at a May hearing on projected budget cuts.

There, she lambasted the board of education for a lack of transparency over its decision making. She openly wondered why it didn't broadcast its meetings on the government channel - like other public entities in the area - so citizens could remain informed.

Rather than simply criticize, especially when the district can hardly afford the nearly $3,500 fee for Channel 14 to record meetings, McNamar stepped forward with her checkbook to pay the bill herself.

On Monday, the school board accepted the 83-year-old's one-year offer, with the possibility of more.

"I am not wealthy but I live comfortably and I can afford it," McNamar said. "I give to other causes and this cause is near and dear."

She said governmental transparency is especially important during a crisis, like the economic one plaguing North Bend and other school districts. McNamar doesn't think meeting minutes are enough. She wants people to see interplay between board members.

"They are public servants. They should not be hiding behind their hands or their whiskers or whatever," she said.

Don Van Dyke, the president of PEG Broadcasting Services Inc., said it will cost $3,491 to film 12 of the board's monthly meetings. PEG operates Channel 14. He noted that while North Bend meets at the same time as the Coos Bay School District, it shouldn't become a problem.

"We'll make it happen," Van Dyke said. "I think all public meetings should be on Channel 14. The better the citizenry knows what's going on the better the government."

District Business manager Sherri Flora said the money for recording and broadcasting would be kept outside of the general fund, and once it's gone, the district can't pay for the service again.

"I don't see us at any time in the future being able to afford that on our own," Board member Deb Reid said Tuesday.

She also suggested that each broadcast include a request for donations to keep the service on air longer.

"One person should not be carrying this burden," Reid said.

Gordon Young, who was the president of PEG from 2000 to 2007, said the district discontinued using Channel 14 broadcasts in June 2006. He said he didn't get a reason.

"I had the feeling that they were dissatisfied with our service," he said. "I always had a sense of hostility when I went into their meetings. It was the only agency I ever recorded where I felt that way."

Reid, who was on the board at the time, said it was a purely financial decision. At that point, the Coos Bay district wasn't broadcasting its meetings. Also, she said, the district had intended to stream its meetings live onto its Web site because the board believed doing so would be more affordable. However, district leaders soon learned its computer servers couldn't handle it. Since then, Reid said the problem has been fixed and streaming could happen, meaning the district could show meetings online along with Channel 14 broadcasts to expand access.

McNamar told the board she felt cutting Channel 14 from its budget was "penny wise and pound stupid."

Reid noted that Oregon Coast Technology School Board Member Jay Noggle has recorded audio and provided notes from several May meetings and hearings and placed them on http://weloveournorthbendschools.com.