903. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN BOARD MEETINGS - Pg. 1

903. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN BOARD MEETINGS
1.Purpose
65 Pa. C.S.A.
Sec. 701 et seq / The Board recognizes the value to school governance of public comment on educational issues and the importance of involving members of the public in Board meetings. The Board also recognizes its responsibility for proper governance of the district and the need to conduct its business in an orderly and efficient manner.
  1. Authority
65 Pa. C.S.A.
Sec. 710
65 Pa. C.S.A.
Sec. 710.1 / The Board shall establish guidelines to govern public participation in Board meetings necessary to conduct its meeting and to maintain order.
In order to permit fair and orderly expression of public comment, the Board shall provide an opportunity at each open meeting of the Board for residents and taxpayers to comment on matters of concern, official action or deliberation before the Board prior to official action by the Board.
All regular and special meetings of the Board shall be open to the public.
3.Delegation of
Responsibility
Pol. 006, 906 / The presiding officer at each public Board meeting will follow the rules of the Board for the conduct of public meetings in accordance with this policy and Policies No. 006 and 906 as follows.
4.Guidelines / Public Participation And Comments At Board Meetings
The Board shall allow public comments on agenda items at the beginning of each meeting and public comments on other items at a point during regular Board meetings to be determined by the presiding officer.
Whenever issues identified by the participant are subject to remediation under policies and procedures of the Board, they shall be dealt with in accordance with those policies and procedures and the organizational structure of the district.
All persons wishing to be placed on the agenda to make a presentation at a public Board meeting shall register their intent with the Superintendent or designee three (3) working days in advance of the meeting and shall include his/her name and address, group affiliation and topic to be addressed. A form will be provided for this purpose.
Participants must be recognized by the presiding officer. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer and not addressed to Board members individually.
Each statement made by a participant shall be limited to five (5) minutes duration, unless otherwise approved by the presiding officer.
The presiding officer is responsible for maintaining proper decorum, and adhering to any established time limits. Questions of fact asked by the public will, when appropriate, be answered by the Superintendent or other administrator. Questions requiring investigation will be referred to the appropriate administrator for later reporting to the Board.
The presiding officer may:
  1. Interrupt or terminate a participant's statement when the statement is too lengthy, personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant.

  1. Request any individual to leave the meeting when that person does not observe reasonable decorum.

  1. Request the assistance of law enforcement officers to remove a disorderly person when his/her conduct interferes with the orderly progress of the meeting.

During a public meeting, the Board shall not hear personal complaints against any person connected with the school system. Requests for the hearing of personal and/or personnel matters may be approved for presentation in executive session at the discretion of the Board.The Superintendent or his/her representative shall attend all such executive sessions. The presiding officer may interrupt or terminate a participant's statement when it is lengthy, abusive, obscene, irrelevant or personally directed.
Electronic recording devices and cameras other than those used as official recording devices will not be permitted at Board meetings.
No placards or banners will be permitted within the meeting room.
The meeting agenda and all pertinent documents shall be distributed to the press and to the public at the meetings. The agenda will also be posted on the district website at least two days prior to the scheduled Board meeting.
Visitors
For the purpose of school building safety and maintaining Board minutes, all visitors attending Board meetings are required to register their attendance on a sign-in sheet that will be provided for that purpose.
References:
Sunshine Act – 65 Pa. C.S.A. Sec. 701 et seq.
Board Policy – 006, 906

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