First State Educate’s latest community action meeting highlighted the importance of public comment. (Photo by THANANIT/Adobe Stock)
In their latest edition of an informative and interactive webinar series, First State Educate gave the inside scoop about all things public comment during school board meetings.
Yvonne Johnson, the main speaker Thursday night and the organization’s school board consultant, outlined the basics: that public comment is usually limited to a few minutes, that it’s not a conversation and board members do not respond, and its purpose is to allow the public to be vocal on district or school-wide matters to move in a positive direction.
It’s crucial to get a core message across to the board in the limited amount of time someone has to comment, Johnson said, but it’s also important to be respectful.
“If you’re adversarial to the school board, they’re going to tune you out,” she said, “so even if you’re upset and you’re frustrated, and believe me, I’ve been there, and I’ve seen it many times, you really have to try to be focused so that you can get your message across in a way that they’ll accept it.”
Changes to public comment
Sen. Laura Sturgeon, D-Hockessin and chair of the Senate Education Committee, cited a bill that was passed in the General Assembly, which was advocated for by First State Educate, that would require public comment to be before the board votes on action items.
She said it was wrong for boards to vote on major items and then have public comment when it was too late for their vote to be influenced by what they heard.
“Most working people cannot just sit around for two hours from seven to nine or sometimes longer, waiting for their chance to speak,” she said, emphasizing that it’s important that boards – and the legislature – prioritize hearing from the community.
Johnson cited seven common challenges for people hoping to make change or give public comment: lack of experience, lack of comfort with the setting, limited information, limited time, lack of relationships, disagreement with majority opinion and limited resources.
Another legislator, Rep. Paul Baumbach, D-Newark, acknowledged that some folks are anxious about giving public comment, and said the best way to get to a place of comfort is to push through the discomfort.
“You’ll get better and you’ll get more comfortable, and one thing to remember is there ain’t nothing special about public officials,” he said. “They’re just like you and me, they put pants on one leg at a time, so don’t be intimidated, and not only that, they serve you. That’s what public servant, the servant part means. So they’re serving you, and you are there to share your insight, which will help them make better decisions if they listen.”
The group then went through different scenarios, like a district facing a potential budget shortfall considering all Chinese immersion programs and how a parent can mobilize those who want the programs to stay to speak and advocate to the board.
Thursday’s attendees seemed to love the exercise and think it was effective.
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Baumbach pointed out that another challenge is that if 30 or so people show up to talk about the same issue, the board often limits the time to speak even more. So, if a board usually allows three minutes per person, they might cut it to a minute and a half for those speaking on the popular topic.
First State Educate’s next webinar is Sept. 12 at 5 p.m. and will focus on understanding student achievement data, which is timely with the state test scores release Thursday.
Register for the virtual meeting here .
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