Delcom School Board Policies

H225

H225 - PUBLIC COMMENTS AND CONCERNS
Posted on 07/19/2022

Public comment about the Delaware Community School Corporation is welcomed by the School Board whenever it is motivated by a sincere desire to improve the quality of the educational program. Public comments at school board meetings are reserved for individuals who reside within the Corporation boundaries.

Subject to the reasonable rules and registration process described below, the Board shall allow members of the public, physically present at a meeting, to provide oral comment before the Board takes final action on a topic. The Board may choose to allow public comment during an electronic meeting held during a declared emergency or local disaster.

To allow for an efficient meeting, the total amount of time dedicated to public comment shall not exceed thirty (30) minutes. The Board may increase the time allotted for public comment in order to meet obligations under law.
The Board shall allot each person providing public comment three (3) minutes to speak.
Persons wishing to address the Board on shall register ahead of the scheduled meeting time. The registration form will include the name of the person(s) providing comment, his or her address, and the organization represented (if any), and identify the agenda item to be addressed.
No person may speak more than once on the same topic.

In order to receive public comment on all agenda items scheduled for final action, the Board will take speakers on a first-come, first-served basis according to the date and time of registration. If the overall time allotment does not allow for accommodation of all speakers, comment will rotate through agenda items to assure the Board hears comment on all agenda items. For example, the Board would hear comment from the first person to register to speak regarding agenda item 1, then the first person to register to speak regarding agenda item 2, and so on and so forth for each agenda item scheduled for final action at the meeting. The Board would then repeat that process, moving to the second, third, fourth, etc., person registered to speak on each agenda item until all registered speakers have spoken or the thirty (30) minute time limit expires, whichever occurs first.

The purpose of public comment is to give the Board members as much information as possible, not to engage in debate. Questions will not be answered at the board meeting but taken under advisement.

The Board will not tolerate abusive or inappropriate language or statements including, but not limited to statements that are: threatening, harassing, illegal, obscene, lewd, vulgar, defamatory, libelous, hostile, or personal attacks. Comments should be directed to the Board, not an individual Board member. Comments may not reference specific Corporation employees, patrons, or students.

The Board President may take appropriate action to maintain order at a meeting. Such actions may include stopping the speaker or limiting comments due to the number of individuals desiring to comment and/or the length of the agenda.