If your board is functioning well and transparently, the general public will likely not feel the need to come out and participate in your board or committee meetings.
Hearing from stakeholders (parents, teachers, and students) is a management function, and should be a high priority for your CEO. You can’t have an effective organization without an active, engaged stakeholder voice.
Typically, if a significant number of parents or teachers are attending your meetings, this means that your organization is not doing an effective job of hearing from your stakeholders.
With that said, what if you do find parents or teachers at your meetings making public comment?
Generally, it is best to hear the comment and not respond on the spot. The board should deliberate about the matter and be prepared to speak with one voice when it is time to respond.
Some charter laws have specific language that spells out the requirements of public comment, but most do not.
First check the requirements of your state’s law. If there are no specific requirements then best practice shows us that you should:
- Have a clearly stated and well-publicized public comment policy.
- The best policies require that those who wish to speak at the board meeting submit a request in writing at least 24 hours in advance to the Board Chair.
- The Board Chair should then decide if it is appropriate for this comment to take place at the board meeting or if it is better suited for the management team to address first.
- Either way, there should be clear, timely communication back to the member of the public who made the request.
- In addition, it is wise to have a document outlining public comment procedures to distribute at the board meetings.
- You can find a sample in this section of the resources.
Setting the right ground rules and expectations should include:
1) A written statement circulated widely and placed on your BoardOnTrack Public Portal that outlines public comment procedures.
2) A statement by the chair prior to people making their public comment about the expected response procedures.
This includes saying something like, “As is detailed in our public comment procedures, it is the practice of the board to hear your feedback but not respond instantly. We will confer with the CEO and depending on the issue either the Board Chair or CEO will respond to you within 24 hours.”
3) You should absolutely have prompt follow-through and respond to those making comments in a timely way.
Note that the public should not sit at the table with the board
Often boards want to appear welcoming so they invite members of the public to sit at the table with the full board.
This is not a good idea; it sends the wrong message about the role of the public.
Members of the public are there to observe the board doing its business not to interfere or weigh in on the board business, except at pre-determined times.
It is better to have a designated spot for members of the public to sit, which is slightly away from the full board.
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