Board of Education

Procedures for Public Comments at Board Meetings

The members of the Board of Education welcome public comments at their meetings and set aside time in the agenda for public participation. All meetings of the Board are open to the public. Public participation will be limited to the regularly scheduled meeting in progress. Such requests shall be subject to the approval of the Superintendent and Board President. In order to permit the fair and orderly expression of such comment, the Board shall provide a period for public participation at every regular meeting of the Board and publish rules of the Board for its conduct as follows:

A. Public participation shall be permitted as indicated on the order of business.

B. Anyone having a legitimate interest in the actions of the Board may participate during the public portion of a meeting.

C. Attendees must register their intention to participate in the public portion of the meeting upon their arrival at the meeting by signing in on the provided sign-in sheet. You must list the following:

• Name and address 
• Group affiliation
• Topic to be addressed

D. Participants must be recognized by the presiding officer and will be requested to preface their comments by an announcement of their name, address, and group affiliation, if and when appropriate.

E. Each statement made by a participant shall be limited to three (3) minutes duration, unless extended by the presiding officer.

F. No participant may speak more than once on the same topic unless all others who wish to speak on that topic have been heard.

G. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer; no person may address or question Board members individually.

H. The presiding officer may:

• Interrupt, warn, or terminate a participant’s statement when the statement is too lengthy, personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant;
• Request any individual to leave the meeting when that person does not observe reasonable decorum;
• Request the assistance of law enforcement officers in the removal of a disorderly person;
• 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.

Approved by the Mathews Local Board of Education January 16, 2019.