Residents wishing to speak to the School Board will have to complete a form about the topic of their comments, then get three minutes to speak.
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published March 25, 2004
BROOKSVILLE - Want to speak to the School Board? The rules are about to change.
Beginning April 6, the board will ask public participants to fill out a form and submit it no later than 15 minutes before a meeting begins, in order to get three minutes to talk.
The document, which will be a public record, requests your name, phone number, address and a brief description of your comments. At the top, it proclaims, "The School Board of Hernando County values your input."
Chairwoman Sandra Nicholson proposed using the form, which is fashioned on the one used by the County Commission (except for the line for a phone number). She said it will help get accurate name spellings into the minutes and will give staff members a way to contact people with followup information.
Perhaps most important, Nicholson said, the information on the paper will assist the board in heading off potential problems before they occur.
"Some of the subjects they want to talk about, we can't talk about and it shouldn't be talked about in public," she explained, listing personnel issues that are under investigation as an example.
"If we can help them solve their issue or explain why it isn't appropriate to discuss it in public before they get up there and get frustrated and angry . . . I think it's a good thing."
Others on the board were not so sure, though they ultimately agreed to try the new public participation format.
"I'm not sure at this point in time I'm comfortable with that, controlling what is said to the board," board member Jim Malcolm said.
Board member Gail David said she could recall very few times when someone spoke about inappropriate topics.
"The thing that probably bothered me has been rudeness," she said. "This would not prevent that from happening. I don't see as much of a need for this as a strict three-minute time limit and a real sense of decorum."
Nicholson said she planned to better enforce time limits, too.
Others on the board had fewer concerns than David and Malcolm. They said the form might help staff members prepare responses while also getting members of the public their answers faster.
"This in no way really limits someone from coming up and speaking," board member John Druzbick said. "I would say we should give it a try."
Barbara Petersen, executive director of the Tallahassee-based First Amendment Foundation, questioned the practice of collecting addresses, phone numbers and descriptions of what you might say.
"I would think that would have a chilling effect on peoples' ability to get up there and talk," she said.
Not that the government can't take this step. State law requires allowing public participation, but it does not stop a government from setting rules on that participation.
In fact, board attorney Karen Gaffney pointed out, more governments have such forms than do not.
That doesn't make it right, though, Petersen said.
"I don't know that there's anything that says they can't do it, but it makes me uncomfortable," she said.
Nicholson said it was not her intent to stifle public conversation. If someone wants to skip giving their phone number, that probably will be acceptable, she said.
And if they want to ignore protestations that their comments should not be aired at the meeting, they can still talk, she added. It is, after all, a public meeting, Nicholson observed.
More than anything, she said, the new form represents an effort to better serve the public.
"If it doesn't work out," Nicholson said, "we're flexible."
