No. 1120

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Series

Board of Education Meetings

Policy

It is the policy of the Region 15 Board of Education that Board of Education meetings are open to attendance by the press and the public at all times except during executive sessions.

The official minutes of all Board meetings and executive sessions are open to the press and public.  Such minutes are available at the Office of the Superintendent and in the offices of the Town Clerks of Middlebury and Southbury.

Public Participation in Board Meetings

It is the policy of the Board of Education to give careful attention to all communications, written or oral, addressed to it by any citizen of the Region.  The Board welcomes suggestions and questions and will take all these offered under consideration.  However, the Board cannot devote its meetings to protracted discussions or debates.  Thus the following procedures are established.

1.

As a part of every regular meeting of the Board of Education, there shall be sub-items entitled “Non-Staff Communications and “Delegations.”  The purpose of these subsections is as follows:

a.

Non-staff Communications

The purpose of this section is the reading of any signed written communications from citizens, as appropriate.  Such communications must be received at least five school days prior to the meeting.

b.

Delegations

The purpose of this section is to allow delegations from community groups to present comments on issues which would not otherwise be included in the agenda.  Presentations by delegations are limited to five minutes.

2.

For the inclusion of a community group on the agenda under the Delegations portion, the Superintendent must receive a written communication regarding the nature of the topic to be presented at least five school days before the meeting.

3.

Requests for an item to be placed on the agenda of a Board meeting should be addressed to the Superintendent of Schools.

4.

The reserves the right, at the discretion of the Chairperson, to limit citizen participation in Board meetings to the agenda items, “Comments from Citizens Regarding Agenda Items” and “Questions from Citizens.”

5.

Any citizen who wishes to address the Board may do so during the two verbal communication periods, with or without prior notice.  However, during the “Comments from Citizens Regarding Agenda Items,” the comments must relate to the meeting agenda items.  Any individual presentation of a question or comment may be limited to five minutes.

6.

A citizen addressing a question which may require information not readily available must realize that the Board reserves the right to seek out the information in detail and to reply to the question either in writing or as a Board item at a subsequent meeting.

7.

The Board reserves the right to call a special meeting to consider any problem or problems which may require lengthy deliberation.

8.

Board meetings are open to the public, and public attendance is encouraged.

Adopted:

1

December

1969

Revision Approved:

25

February

1985

Revision Approved:

28

September

1998