The Board of Education desires to hear the viewpoint of district residents and to give careful attention to all communications, written or oral, addressed to it.
The following procedures are established for public comment at regular meetings of the Board:
1. Requests for consideration of an item to be placed on the agenda of a Board meeting shall be addressed to the President of the Board or to the Superintendent of Schools. The request must be filed with the Superintendent’s office at least 10 days before the regular meeting so that any necessary study or investigation can be made to provide Board members with background information.
2. A period of time, not to exceed 30 minutes (which may be waived by a majority vote of the Board), shall be set aside during the first part of each regular meeting and may be set aside at each special Board meeting during which the taxpayers, community citizens, school personnel, and school students and any representatives of the above may openly express themselves directly to the Board.
3. Any individual who wishes to address the Board may do so by signing the special sheet so provided at the Board table. Upon recognition by the Chairperson of the Board during the oral communication period in accordance with the following:
a. Individuals will be called upon in the order they are listed on a sign-up sheet. Each participant will be limited to a single item/issue as indicated on the sign-up sheet and shall not be recognized a second time until all others wishing to participate have been recognized and have had an opportunity to be heard.
b. Any individual presentation of a question or comment may be limited to four minutes or appropriate share of the allotted time (30 minutes) divided by the number of participants scheduled. The allotted time limit for each participant shall be announced by the Chairperson at the start of each oral communication period.
c. The Chairperson shall not be obligated to recognize or permit impromptu comments or presentations from those in attendance who are not scheduled to meet with the Board.
4. The Board President, or presiding Chairperson in his/her absence, will be responsible for recognizing all speakers and controlling time limits. All speakers must properly identify themselves, any organization they may be representing, and the issue/item he or she will address.
5. Questions raised by the public will, when possible, be answered by the Board President. Questions requiring investigation will be referred to the Superintendent for appropriate action.
6. Members of the public will not be recognized by the Board President nor permitted to speak while the Board sits in regular session to conduct its official business except when scheduled in advance and included on the agenda or if called upon by the Board.
7. Comments should be made in a respectful manner. Obscene language, libelous statements, threats of violence, and statements advocating racial, religious, or other forms of prejudice will not be tolerated. No speaker may comment on or identify any particular student or employee by name or by implication in their comments. On these matters, we ask that you review our Board policies and go through the appropriate administrative channels. Such relevant Board policies may include, but not be limited to:
Policy 1400 – Public Complaints
Policy 1404 – Public Complaints About Certain Federally-Funded Programs
Policy 1410 – Complaints About Policies
Policy 1420 – Complaints About Curricula, Library Materials or Other Instructional Materials
Policy 1440 – Complaints About School Personnel
Any speaker who is out of order may be cautioned by the Chairperson that if such remarks or behaviors persist, the speaker’s privilege to address the Board will be terminated. The President or presiding Chairperson is responsible for the orderly conduct of the meeting and shall rule on such matters as the time to be allowed for public discussion, the appropriateness of the subject being presented, and suitability of the time for such a presentation. The Board as a whole shall have the final decision in determining the appropriateness of all such rulings.
Adoption date: May 27, 1997
Revised: March 8, 1999
Reviewed: February 27, 2017
Revised: January 10, 2022
Revised: November 14, 2022