Public Participation at Board of Education Meetings
There are two separate Public Participation opportunities during each month’s work session and regular session Board meetings during which members of the public may address topics dealing with Agenda items and/or General School District matters. Each public participation session shall be governed by the following rules:
- Each participant who wishes to address the Board shall complete an information card indicating his/her name, municipality of residence, group affiliation, and a general overview of the topic(s) to be presented;
- A participant must be recognized by the presiding officer and must preface comments by an announcement of his or her name, municipality of residence, and group affiliation, if appropriate;
- All statements, questions, or inquiries shall be directed to the presiding officer and any questions or inquiries directed by a participant to another Board member shall be redirected to the presiding officer who shall determine if such statement, question, or inquiry shall be addressed by the presiding officer on behalf of the Board or by the individual Board member;
- For the first and second public participation session, each participant is allowed to address the Board only once, and each statement made by a participant shall be limited to a period of five (5) minutes’ duration; The first public participation session relates only to items on the Board’s official agenda. The second public participation session is for comments on agenda or non-agenda items relating to Washington Township Public Schools;
- A participant may not donate allotted speaking time to another participant.