(Districts Designating a Public Comment Period)

To provide for full and open communication between the public and the Board of Education, the Board authorizes the following avenues for the exchange of information, ideas and opinions.

Grievance through Established Policy and Procedure

Students, employees and any members of the public are encouraged to utilize established policies and procedures for offering suggestions or addressing concerns and complaints prior to bringing the issue before the Board. The Board believes that many issues can be resolved by communication with teachers, administrators and other staff and may refuse to address an issue if the individual presenting it has not first attempted to resolve the matter through established procedures and policies.

Written Correspondence

Written correspondence may be directed to the Board, through the superintendent, for consideration at a meeting. Copies of all correspondence directed to the Board will be made available to all Board members. Statements of two pages or less are encouraged.

Agenda Items

Any member of the public who wishes to have an item placed on the agenda will present the request in writing to the superintendent or designee. The request must be submitted pursuant to Board policy and received the Monday before the scheduled meeting. The item will then be appropriately placed on the agenda. The Board reserves the right to impose reasonable restrictions on the number of items to be considered, the number of spokespersons and the speaking time of spokespersons appearing before the Board. If the meeting agenda is full, the Board reserves the right to reschedule an item for the next regular meeting. The Board may refuse to address an issue that has not gone through the appropriate grievance procedure. The Board reserves the right to waive formalities in emergency situations, within the limitations of the law.

Public Comment

Any member of the public may address the Board of Education at a regular monthly Board meeting. The following guidelines will govern such comments:

• The period of public comments at the regular monthly Board meeting will not exceed 15 minutes.
• Individuals who wish to speak must sign up before the president calls the meeting to order. A sign-up sheet will be provided. Interested parties will provide their names and a brief description of their topics.
• Individuals may speak no more than three minutes and may not speak more than once during the period for public comments.
• If more than two people sign up to address the Board on the same topic, the Board may require these people to select a spokesperson. In this event, the spokesperson will be allowed five minutes to speak.
• The Board president may interrupt or end comments related to a topic that can legally be discussed in executive session and, in the opinion of the president, should not be discussed in open session.