PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT BOARD MEETINGS

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT BOARD MEETINGS

po0167.3Adopted January 9, 2001Revised July 12, 2022

0167.3 - PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT BOARD MEETINGS

The School Board recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on Corporation matters.

Any person or group wishing to place an item on the agenda shall register their intent with the Superintendent no later than five (5) days prior to the meeting and include:

  1. name and address of the participant;
  2. group affiliation, if and when appropriate;
  3. topic to be addressed.

Such requests shall be approved by the Superintendent and the Board President

To permit fair and orderly public expression, the Board shall provide a period for oral public comment at every meeting of the Board, and establish procedures to govern such comment at Board meetings.

The presiding officer of each Board meeting at which public comment is permitted shall administer the procedures of the Board for its conduct.

The presiding officer shall be guided by the following rules:

  1. Public comment shall be permitted as indicated on the order of business. Provided, however, that public comment may be prohibited at any meeting that must be conducted remotely or virtually due to an emergency declared by Federal, State or local officials.
  2. Attendees must register their intention to comment in the public portion of the meeting upon their arrival at the meeting and prior to the commencement of the meeting.
  3. Participants must be recognized by the presiding officer and will be requested to preface their comments by an announcement of their name, address, group affiliation, if and when appropriate. 
  4. Each statement made by a participant shall be limited to three (3) minutes duration.
  5. No participant may speak more than once on the same topic.
  6. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer; no person may address or question Board members individually.
  7. The presiding officer may:
     
    1. prohibit public comments which are frivolous, repetitive, harassing, or which disclose information required to be kept confidential pursuant to federal, state, or local law or policies adopted by the Corporation;
    2. interrupt, warn, or terminate a person's statement when the statement is too lengthy, personally directed, abusive, obscene;
    3. request any individual to leave the meeting when that person behaves in a manner that is disruptive of the orderly conduct of the meeting;
    4. request the assistance of law enforcement officers in the removal of a disorderly person when that person's behavior interferes with the orderly conduct of the meeting;
    5. call for a recess or an adjournment to another time when the lack of public decorum so interferes with the orderly conduct of the meeting as to warrant such action;
  8. The portion of the meeting during which oral public comment occurs shall be limited to thirty (30) minutes unless extended by a vote of the Board
  9. Digital, audio or video recordings are permitted. The person operating the recorder should contact the Superintendent prior to the Board meeting to review possible placement of the equipment, and agrees to abide by the following conditions:
     
    1. No obstructions are created between the Board and the audience.
    2. No interviews are conducted during the Board meeting.
    3. No commentary is made that would distract either the Board or members of the audience.

Revised 7/1/03
Revised 1/12/21

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