Anyone that has attended a public BOE meeting knows that they are long and packed with a lot of detailed business and discussion by the board that could be handled within closed sessions, with concise updates provided in the evening public sessions for the public.

The last 3 BOE meetings lasted 4.5, 5, and 5.5 hours respectively. Anyone wanting to make public comments had to arrive an hour before the doors opened to get in line to sign up for the first set of speakers or wait over 3 hours for the BOE to finish its business. One board member floated the idea that students who wish to speak should always go first and get an extra 2 minutes over the 3 minutes allotted to the general public. We think that will only worsen the problem (we also believe that if a student comes to speak publicly, they are participating as a general public member).

Sue Johnson has tried to bring some order and discipline to the process of public speaking, and we give her credit for her efforts, but we believe there is more that needs to change.

Here are some things we think should be done. If you agree with any of these ideas, let the board know.

Accept that the meeting start time of 6:00 p.m. is designed to maximize public attendance and participation.

Some updates provided to the board by internal FCPS staff go on for more than an hour. Sitting in the audience, one feels the board has never heard any of the information before, and there is considerable discussion and clarifying questions.

Suggestion: Keep the updates to the board brief and keep them focused on relevant public updates. The rationale for decisions can be provided succinctly. Topics like school construction, policy changes, relevant committee information, legislative updates, recognition, and academic updates are very relevant but keep them focused and on point.

Expand the time for public comment.

Right now, the public comments are limited to 30 minutes, but as the public has become more involved and aware and wish to be heard more (which we can all agree is terrific), the meeting structure should also change. When people take the time to attend a meeting to be heard and are denied or have to wait hours to speak, it discourages public comment.

Suggestion: Consider allowing an hour for public comment. When more time is needed, move the second round of public comments up in the agenda to immediately follow the coverage of any mandatory public topics by the board, putting off other board topics until after the second public segment.  

Suggestion: Consider the topics. If there is great public interest and discussion on topics that the board knows has generated a good deal of public concern, like the Brunswick High School, the new Gender Identity policy proposal, the budget and funding – adjust the agenda to expand the time and timing of the public comment segment.