Members of the public who wish to address the Oxford Board of Education regarding an agenda item during a meeting will no longer have to arrange to do so three days in advance or wait until the end of the meeting to speak their piece.
That’s because the school board voted unanimously Dec. 17 to approve Bylaw 0167.3, which addresses public participation at board meetings.
This new bylaw language reads, ‘At the beginning of a board meeting and after any agenda changes, the presiding board member shall ask if there is anyone who wishes to address the board on an agenda item. If so, they will be placed on prearranged (comment).?
Why the change?
According to Superintendent Dr. William Skilling, after ‘an issue came up? about speaking to an agenda item prior to the board voting on it at the Dec. 10 board meeting, he along with his administrative assistant Patrice Bono, decided to look into the issue.
After talking with the district’s attorney, they discovered they’ve been using the wrong protocol.
‘What was happening was in our board prearranged request, it talks about adding an agenda item to the board and giving three days notice,? Skilling explained at a Dec. 15 special board meeting. ‘It only pertains to adding an agenda item. It does not pertain to somebody asking to speak to an agenda item.
‘So, when the public comes and (says they’d like to address a specific agenda item) we have to allow them to speak to that. It’s not stated in our policy, but it’s understood under the law that the public has a right to speak to an agenda item.?
In meetings past, when members of the public have asked to address agenda items, they’ve been instructed by Board President Colleen Schultz to wait and give their comments at the end of the meeting during the public comment portion, which is after the board has already discussed and sometimes voted on an issue.
The new bylaw language now makes them ‘compliant,? according to Skilling.
‘Not that we weren’t compliant with the policy (before), but we weren’t compliant with (it) in terms of how we were acting upon it,? he added. ‘We were using requirements for placing agenda items on the board as also the requirement for the people to speak to that agenda item and they’re not the same thing.?
Under the Open Meetings Act (MCL 15.263 (5) ‘A person shall be permitted to address a meeting of a public body under the rules established and recorded by the public body.?
To highlight the importance of public comment, Skilling requested that the following language be added to meeting agendas ? ‘The Board of Education recognizes the value of pubic comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on District matters.?