The Board recognizes the importance of citizen participation in school district matters. In order to assure citizens are heard and board meetings are conducted efficiently and in an organized manner, the Board may set time aside for citizen participation, either at a specific time during the meeting or during the discussion of agenda items. If the pressure of business or other circumstances dictate, the Board President may decide to not set time aside for citizen participation.
Citizens wishing to address the Board on a certain agenda item must notify the Board President or Board Secretary prior to the board meeting. Citizens wishing to present petitions to the Board may do so at this time. However, if a petition is presented, the Board will only receive the petition and not act upon it or its contents. The Board has the discretion to limit the amount of time set aside for public participation.
If the Board has set time aside for citizen participation and citizens wish to address the Board, the Board President will recognize these individuals to make their comments at the appropriate time. The orderly process of the board meeting will not be interfered with or disrupted. Only those speakers recognized by the Board President will be allowed to speak. Comments by others are out of order. If disruptive, the individual making comments or another individual causing disruption may be asked to leave the board meeting. Defamatory comments may be subject to legal action.
Public comment is a time set aside for community input, but the board will not discuss or take any action on any matter during public comment.
Public comment shall be limited to regular board meetings and will not be routinely held during special board meetings.
Requesting to Place a Topic on the Agenda:
The Board and District are intentional when building the Board agenda. Individuals or groups who wish to place an item on the agenda should do so by contacting the Superintendent. Requests should include name, address, phone number, organization represented, purpose of the presentation and pertinent background information. To be considered for the Regular meeting agenda, the request must be received by the Superintendent no later than six calendar days prior to the meeting and determination to be added to the agenda lies with the Superintendent and Board President. While we do highly value the opinions and ideas of our stakeholders, requests to add an agenda item are not guaranteed. In addition, requests received after the deadline may only be added to the agenda if the Superintendent and Board President find good cause.
The Iowa Department of Education and HF 868 created a process for eligible voters within a school district to petition their local school board. The guidelines for this process are on the Iowa Department of Education website.
Individuals who have a complaint about an employee may ask the board to hear their complaint only after they have followed the board policy addressing citizens’ complaints. Students who have a complaint may ask the board to hear their complaint only after they have followed board policy addressing students’ complaints.
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Approved: 2/11/13 |
Reviewed: 1/14/19 |
Revised: 12/9/24 |