Public Participation at Board Meetings

Spencer-Van Etten Board of Education meetings are generally held on the fourth Tuesday of each month except in December, when there will be no meeting. Board workshops are held on the second Tuesday of each month, except in January when there are two regular meetings. Meetings begin at 7:00 PM in the middle school library.

The Board of Education encourages public participation at its meetings in accordance with New York State law, which establishes the right of citizens to attend and listen to the deliberations of the board. There will be a specific agenda item at each regular board meeting to provide members of the school community an opportunity to address the board regarding agenda items and other concerns that can be legally discussed at a public session of the board.

The board shall establish a reasonable time period for such discussion and procedures to be followed by members of the community who wish to address the board.

The superintendent of schools is hereby directed to develop a regulation that establishes reasonable procedures to implement and execute this policy.

The president of the board shall be responsible for recognizing individuals wishing to address the board, determining if the actions and/or comments of the individual are in accordance with this policy and accompanying regulation and for taking action to advise any member of the community that he/she is out of order.


Regulations for Board Meeting Participation

The following procedures are hereby established for public comments at board meetings:

  1. Individuals who wish to address the board should sign the form provided by the district clerk prior to the start of the meeting. If possible, individuals should contact the superintendent s office prior to the meeting to request being placed on the agenda.
  2. The time period for public comment shall not exceed 30 minutes unless extended by a majority vote of the board. Any individual will be limited to a maximum of five minutes unless granted additional time by the board.
  3. Individuals may address items listed on the official agenda or such topics as may be legally addressed in a public session of the Board of Education.
  4. Individuals who wish to allege wrongdoing or misconduct on the part of specific employees or students must follow board policies established for that purpose and will not be allowed to address such items to the board except as provided in Policy 1440 (Complaints About School Personnel).
  5. Individuals who wish to allege wrongdoing or misconduct on the part of any company engaged by the school district must do so in writing to the board and will not be allowed to make such allegations in a public session of the board.
  6. No individual will be allowed to use profanity, abusive language, or make personal attacks, whether they are directed at the board members, school employees, students or members of the school community.
  7. Any individual who willfully violates this regulation or refuses to comply with a request from the president of the Board of Education may be prohibited from addressing the board for a period of time to be determined by a majority vote of the board.