|
The District 200 School Board has unanimously adopted a new policy that will severely limit the rights of parents and community members to make public comments at board meetings. While this policy has little if any impact on me, it will make life more difficult for parents who don't regularly attend meetings, but may want to speak on an issue of particular concern. In any event, I encourage everyone to keep attending and keep speaking out. The Board works for us, not we for them.
TEXT OF MY COMMENTS AT APRIL 16 Meeting:
Remarks to Board of Education, Community Unit School District 200, April 16, 2008
My name is Mark Stern and I live in Wheaton.
Your proposed restrictions limit public participation at the start of a meeting to agenda items being voted on that very meeting. But you just reminded us that the same policy says you don’t respond to public comments until you’ve had time to gather information and discuss options.[1] That is, you don’t act on comments at the same meeting. In other words, the changes are a cynical Catch-22 that gives public input “priority” only after it’s too late for you to act on it.
Not one agenda item was voted down in the last five years, and almost all were unanimously rubber stamped. Thus, parents need the Board to hear them before items reach the agenda, when comments can still make a difference. Longfellow redistricting, R-rated movies, and the tornado were not on the agenda when concerned parents first spoke.
Your impartiality is suspect. Speakers aren’t treated equally. One Board supporter didn’t even have to attend a meeting – the President just read her letter aloud.[2] Last meeting, the Secretary claimed she resolved one prior speaker’s objections. Did she also contact the two PTA leaders who objected? The answer is no.[3] The only communication the Board wants to prioritize is from those who already agree, or who can be persuaded with a wink and a nod.
Restricting the public’s right to speak at board meetings seeks to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Like too many government policies, this is a knee-jerk reaction to past issues, rather than a serious step forward. Over the last four years, other than Hubble-related comments, the Board averaged fewer than 2 public comments per meeting.[4] That’s less than five minutes of board time.
Tonight we heard 9 minutes of "high school reports" on topics like the male beauty pageant at Wheaton North. If you can find time each meeting to listen to teenagers, you can find five minutes to listen to taxpayers.
[1] See Board Policy 2.230 (including proposed revisions): “Immediately prior to inviting public comments, the Board President will make an announcement, such as the following: “Public comments are valuable and important to Board Members. However, it is our policy not to take action on any items until we’ve taken the time to gather adequate information and objectively discuss available options. Also, to preserve the confidentiality of the individuals involved, the Board and its President reserve the right to request that items relating to either personnel or students be provided to the Board privately or in writing for consideration in a future closed session. Please understand that lack of action on your comments tonight does not imply any lack of interest in what you have to say.” (emphasis supplied)
[2] See minutes of January 23, 2008 meeting; a letter supportive of the Board was read as part of public comment, not as the President’s personal remarks, although the author never signed in as required by Board policy or even attended any portion of the meeting. This privilege has not been afforded to other letter writers.
[3] At the March 26, 2008 meeting, the Secretary stated that she had spoken with an individual who objected to these policy changes at the March 12, 2008 meeting, and that such person was now ok with the changes. The Secretary did not contact either of the other two persons who spoke at the March 12 meeting against such changes to inquire about their objections.
[4] A complete review of Board meeting minutes posted on the District web site for approximately the last 55 meetings shows approximately 75 public comments on non-Hubble related topics, or less than 1 ½ such comments per meeting. For the same period, there is no record of any agenda item being defeated.
The new policy is designed to reduce the amount of public input at regular board meetings, by delaying it, moving it to times when there is less public attention, or banning it. For example:
1. Anyone wishing to speak on a topic of concern that is not on the board’s agenda must sit through the entire meeting – as long as three hours – and then compete for time with others. Example: Longfellow parents who attended the March 12, 2008 meeting to complain about lack of notice of redistricting would have had to sit through the entire meeting before raising their concerns. Do you want to leave your kids at home for 3-4 hours to exercise your right to speak? Further, after 30 minutes you could be cut off from speaking at all. This is designed to deter public comment, unlike Wheaton and Warrenville, which both allow comment on any topic at the start of meetings, to respect the public’s time.
2. The Board could prevent anyone from mentioning any District teacher or administrator. Example: parents at the September 12, 2007 meeting criticized certain staff members, and praised others. All of this comment would have to be submitted in writing and would remain confidential. And, no one could speak about the $380,000 salary paid to the superintendent. Parents would lose the ability to share, at board meetings, good or bad things about any district employee. [Note: Board Member Bomher has stated that in his opinion this is not mandatory. We will see what happens.]
3. Parents who can’t speak fast enough to make their point in 3 minutes will no longer be able to pool their time with friends and neighbors. This makes it very difficult for those who are not trained public speakers to address their points, especially on complex issues. At the February 26, 2008 meeting, a group of 12 parents had one speaker address redistricting, rather than all speak individually. That would be barred under the new policy. By contrast, Wheaton allows speakers 5 minutes.
4. The Board retains the ability to prevent speakers from addressing the same topic more than once. Example: If you spoke about your child’s bus route two years ago and the board president doesn’t like what you said – he can prohibit you from talking about your child’s bus route at any future meeting, ever.
The board sought to revise its policies because board members didn’t like members of the public speaking about the Hubble issue. But that issue is over, and public comments are now much shorter. Whatever your view of the issues, you should have the ability to speak out if you choose. The board is using this as an excuse to deny speakers it doesn’t like the ability to speak publicly at regular meetings. Whatever the next issue may be, good government requires the ability of the public to participate fully. Speak out – the speech you protect may be your own!
More details about the policy changes
Currently, members of the public can speak on any topic they wish near the start of any regular school board meeting. This includes topics on the agenda, as well as topics not on the agenda. For example, if you want a new stop on your child’s bus route, you can speak on that topic – and if the board does or doesn’t act, you can speak again at the next meeting, to thank the board or ask why it didn’t act. If this affects several of your neighbors, you can attend as a group and have one person speak for up to 15 minutes, rather than have several short statements. If you have a concern about a specific district employee, you can raise that issue as well.
The revised policy changes all that. First, revised policy 2.220 moves public comment on non-agenda items to the end of the meeting. Parents must arrive prior to 7:30 p.m. to sign in (revised policy 2.230), but then must sit through the entire meeting until the end before speaking. Meetings often last until about 10 p.m., meaning that a parent might leave home at 7 and not get back until nearly 11 p.m., just to make a three minute public comment. This is a significant hardship on families, especially with young children; how many people after working all day can take this much time away from their families? This policy means it is very difficult to comment on any matter the board does not choose to put on its agenda. While the revision to policy 2.220 allows the board to hold “community conversation meetings,” it does not say when or how often these would be held. It is unlikely that they would be televised on community access tv or have media coverage – the board wants members of the public with concerns to speak when their concerns won’t receive the same attention.
Next, the board can require any parent with a concern about any personnel or student to submit it in writing, confidentially (revised policy 2.230). This means that parents can’t make public comments – good or bad – about any teacher, administrator, coach, or other employee. They also may be barred from sharing their own child’s experiences. After the tornado, many parents came with concerns about early dismissal by the principal of Monroe on September 12, 2007; some had positive statements about the handling of the storm at Franklin and other schools. The new policy allows the board to say: sit down and be quiet; if you’re not happy about your interaction with any district staff, submit your concerns in writing where they will be confidential and never disclosed to the public. Not coincidentally, this policy change would also prohibit any public comments about administrator contracts, such as Dr. Catalani’s $380,000 contract.
The board also wants to end the ability of parents to speak as a group, by eliminating “pooling” of minutes, by changing policy 2.230. A neighborhood group concerned about a bus route, or a school boundary, can no longer have one spokesman, as happened at the February 26, 2008, when one person spoke on behalf of about 12 parents regarding Lowell redistricting, or the March 12, 2008 meeting, where about a dozen concerned Longfellow parents (some of whom had difficulty with the English language) had one spokeswoman. Three minutes is not long enough for an average parent who is not a professional speaker to share his or her concerns. The City of Wheaton allows 5 minutes.
Finally, policy 2.230 keeps the ability of the board president to deny anyone the right to speak on a topic he or she has previously addressed. This means that once you speak on a topic, you may never be able to follow up on it. While this is not a change, it maintains a dangerous precedent. Why should the board president be able to limit citizens to three minutes on any particular topic? The board works for us, not we for them.
|
