The public is encouraged to attend Board meetings to listen and observe Board deliberations unless excluded by State Statute.  Meetings of the Board of Education are held for the express purpose of conducting the business of the school district.  Meetings of the Board are not public meetings, but rather meetings held in public.  Members of the public will not be recognized as the board conducts its official business, except when the board schedules in advance an interim public discussion period on a particular agenda item.

The Board values and respectfully considers community input in decision-making.  Agenda item “Recognition of the Public Who Wish to Comment to the Board” provides the Public with an opportunity to comment on items of relevance to the District.  It is not the intent of the public comment portion of the agenda for the Board to enter into a debate with a member of the community.  The public comments agenda item is not intended as a forum for identifying, presenting, or processing complaints or grievances against individual students or staff members. Student matters should be brought to the Principal.  Personnel matters should be brought to the attention of the District Administrator.  Information presented on non-agenda items cannot be acted on due to the requirements of the Open Meeting Law.  However they could precipitate a future agenda item. 

Public participation at Board meetings shall be permitted under the following guidelines:

A. Each regular Board meeting shall provide a time at which citizens may comment on issues and address the Board on any matter during “Recognition of the Public Who Wish to Comment to the Board”.

B. The Board may listen to the matters brought before it, but not act upon any matter raised by the public.  Participants shall direct all comments to the presiding officer and not to individual Board members, staff or other participants.  The presiding officer may: 

1. interrupt, warn, or terminate a participant’s statement when the statement is too lengthy, personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant;

2. request any individual to leave the meeting when that person does not observe reasonable decorum;

3. request the assistance of law enforcement officers in the removal of a disorderly person when that person’s conduct interferes with the orderly progress of the meeting;

4. 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; and/or

5. waive these rules with the approval of the Board when necessary for the protection of privacy or the administration of the Board’s business.

C. Citizens attending Special Board meetings may express viewpoints or concerns only during agenda item “Recognition of the Public Who Wish to Comment to the Board” and only on agenda topics.

D. A citizen of the District may request that an item be placed on a future Board agenda by submitting a written request to the District Administrator at least ten days prior to a regular Board meeting in order for timely inclusion in packets forwarded to Board members.  The request shall state the issue, related background information and suggested Board action(s).  The Board under agenda item “Consideration of Future Agenda Items” will consider the request and determine if the item is to be placed on a future agenda. 

LEGAL REFERENCE: Wisconsin Statutes 19.81; 19.84(2); & 19.85

Adopted:  September 21, 2011