School board ponders public comment changes

The Lincoln Parish School Board is considering an overhaul of its system for allowing public comments at its meetings.

At an action-packed monthly meeting Tuesday, the board introduced a policy change that officials say is aimed at giving everyone a chance to speak, while attendees were concerned it would limit public participation.

The revised policy would require attendees to fill out a card prior to the meeting being called to order, indicating which agenda item or items they’d like to speak about, in order to be recognized.

The board is expected to vote on adoption of this system at next month’s regular meeting.

This proposal arrives in the wake of a significant uptick in attendance and public comments at board meetings over the past several months, originally prompted by an elementary school consolidation proposal that was defeated at the polls in April.

Opponents of that proposal, including members of the Coalition Against School Closures citizen group, have continued to pack school board meetings since then.

“We’ve had bigger crowds at the last few meetings, and sometimes it overflows into the hall,” Superintendent Ricky Durrett said after Tuesday’s meeting. “For us, this was about trying to make sure everybody gets the opportunity (to speak), not to stop somebody from talking, and not to limit what somebody has to say.”

State law requires local school boards to allow for public comment before each agenda item in which a vote might be taken, before the vote happens.

Currently, board members have initial discussion of an item, and after a motion and second is made, President Joe Mitcham asks if there are any public comments, followed by any additional board discussion and finally, the vote.

Here’s the new proposed process:

• Members of the public fill out cards, placed at the front of the building, for any agenda item on which they’d like to speak

• Cards are collected until the meeting is called to order. No cards would be accepted after the meeting begins.

• As each agenda item comes up, the president would recognize any cards on that item and give each speaker three minutes.

• After public comments, the board would begin discussing and taking any action on the agenda item.

The proposal requires speakers keep their comments strictly related to the agenda item. It also prohibits commenters from asking questions or making “accusatory comments.”

Coalition members Bill Smith and Veda Emerson told board members they were concerned the policy would hinder the public from giving informed comments because they would only be able to speak on an item before any motions or discussion from the board.

District 2 board member Danielle Williams echoed the concerns.

“The agenda items can be really vague,” Williams said.

She asked Durrett if the board could begin using the web platform BoardDocs to upload supplemental material for each agenda before the meeting for the public to see.

Durrett said he would look into how to do that and didn’t have a problem with it.

He said the intent of the policy change is to help the board have more organized comment periods and make sure everyone gets a turn.

“If you’re a dominant (person) that wants to talk over people, that’s what we would like to stop,” he said. “It’s so everybody gets a chance, and one or two don’t dominate it.”

The comment card system is patterned after a similar setup the state Legislature uses in its committees. Other local boards, like the Lincoln Parish Police Jury, also require attendees to sign up to comment, though their system is a little different.