Process for Persons Desiring to Address the Board
Attending in-person:
If you wish to address the Board, complete a yellow card available at the meeting, and present to a staff member.
Attending via Zoom or submitting written comment:
Register for public comment by 3:00 pm on the day of the meeting by sending an email to PublicComment@skschools.org
Include the following:
- The meeting date in the subject line
- Your first and last name, contact information, and the topic you would like to address
- Indicate if you plan to speak to the Board or submit a written comment. Written comments are not read aloud at meetings
All comments are limited to three minutes.
As a reminder, the Board listens to public comment but does not engage in question and answer sessions during the meeting.
Public Comment
The board recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of involving members of the public in its meetings. As such, the board will establish and maintain a 24/7 email address for written public comments that will be forwarded to the entire board up until 3:00 pm on any given meeting day, thus providing the board time to review and reflect upon the public comments prior to each board meeting. Furthermore, in order to permit fair and orderly expression of verbal public comments, the board will provide a (up to 30 minute) period at the beginning of each regular board meeting during which attendees may present in-person to the board. If more than 10 participants indicate that they wish to make verbal comments at the start of the board meeting (thereby potentially exceeding the 30-minute cap) names will be randomly selected from the list of potential speakers until the requested speaker list is exhausted or the 30-minute time period expires (whichever comes first).
The board will make reasonable accommodations available for individuals who have difficulty attending an in-person board meeting but would still like to make a verbal public comment. For those individuals whose circumstances make it difficult to attend in person we will provide an option to attend the meeting virtually. Those requesting the option of remote public comment must send in a request to our public comment email address stating their legal name and indicating their desire to speak during public comment no later than 3:00 pm on the day of the meeting. Those remote requesters doing so will be added to the list of potential speakers for public comment at the start of the board meeting.
Individuals, after identifying themselves by legal name, will proceed to make comments within the time limits established by the board. Each individual will be allowed three minutes to speak. The chair/president may interrupt or terminate any statement when it exceeds the time limit, or is vulgar, obscene or grossly disruptive to the board process. Any restriction imposed must be viewpoint neutral. The board as a whole has the final decision in determining the appropriateness of all such rulings.
Public comment is an opportunity to direct comments to the school board for its consideration. Any specific operational questions raised during public comment will be addressed to the chair/president, who will typically refer the question to the superintendent for a detailed response to the individual at a later time. The superintendent will then also report the response to the board at a subsequent public meeting.