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Members of the public may get two opportunities, instead of one, to provide input at School Board action meetings.
The School Board of Lee County was briefed Tuesday on a new policy that would potentially split public comment into two different sections, one during an action meeting, and the other following adjournment.
There was feedback on both sides of the fence from board members.
"I think that is the problem right there," Board member Betsy Vaughn said. "If I were to go with this, I would say that when we finish our business, and before board member comments, we should have the opportunity for individuals to speak and we can play with the number. I think 20 individuals considering the length of some of our meetings is probably a good number. Why would we do it after the meeting is adjourned? When the meeting is adjourned the lights go out and we are no longer an official board meeting."
According to policy 1.111, an individual who wishes to address the school board concerning a specific item on the agenda during a regular, or special meeting, can do so by filling out the public comment card prior to the start of the meeting. "Following the adjournment of a regular action meeting, individuals will have an opportunity to address the school board on any other matter relevant to the operation of the school district not already addressed, not on the agenda, nor discussed previously in the earlier public comment portion of the meeting."
The policy states that no more than 20 individuals will be allowed to address the school board following the adjournment of an action meeting with a maximum of 40 minutes.
School Board Attorney Kathy Dupuy-Bruno said during an action meeting, constituents will be able to speak specifically on an agenda item during public comment, and then at the end of the constituents will be able to speak on anything related to the district. Once the board completes its business, individuals can talk about anything else, as long as it is related to operations of the district.
"It’s a difficult situation because we want to be viewpoint and content neutral," Dupuy-Bruno said. "I want to allow for that to happen at the end of our business."
Board member Melisa Giovannelli said she has a hard time supporting the policy because she believes in the rights of the public, as technically they are her boss. She questioned how they could limit the second public comment to only 20 people.
"One is an hour at the beginning and the other portion being limited to 20 people for 40 minutes. I am having a hard time wtih that being fair," she said.
Comments at the beginning of the meeting helps to focus the meeting, Board member Gwyn Gittens, said.
"I don't know if I would support having two times for public comment. I don't know if we would give the public our full attention at that time and would we really be listening," she said.
On the flip side, Board member Chris Patricca said she thinks it is important to recognize they are conducting business of a nearly $2 billion organization.
"The public comments with regards to decisions right in front of us are very important for us to consider," she said. "Comments beyond that lead to confusion and difficult for me to stay focused on the business in front of me that evening. Splitting out agenda items at the beginning affect my decision making immediate, at the end is appropriate as well. After a certain period of time I cannot digest any more information. We are actually expanding the amount of public comment allowed to an hour and 40 minutes."
Board chair Debbie Jordan said she believes the split public comment is better for the board, as they can conduct the business of the board, while it still gives the opportunity for speakers to speak on what they are feeling, or share other information they want to provide.
After a lengthy discussion and restraints on time, the board decided to send individual suggestions on how to improve the policy to Dupuy-Bruno, as there were other portions of the policy that were troubling.
"We can pre-brief this once more,” Dupuy-Bruno said.