Public Comment

The public is welcome to attend any VASD Board of Education meeting. Time will be allotted for public comment during each Regular Board of Education Meeting. The board welcomes public input regarding the operation of the District from District residents, employees of the District, current students enrolled in the District or parents or legal guardians of students enrolled in the District. Comments that threaten, intimidate, or make disparaging comments about board members, district staff, and other members of the public are unacceptable. 

 

Note: All public comments are considered public record.

 

Please read the Governance Culture Policy: GC 11 Public Comment at Board Meetings for rules and procedures.

 

Public Comment at Board Meetings (GC 11)
 

During each regularly scheduled Board Meeting, the Board shall place on the agenda time for members of the public to comment on matters relating to the operation of the District. The time available for public comment shall be limited to thirty (30) minutes unless extended by a majority vote of the Board. 

To give public comment at a Board Meeting, commenters must be (1) a resident of the District; (2) an employee of the District; (3) a current student in the District; or (4) a parent or guardian of a student in the District. Anyone wishing to make a public comment must pick up and complete the Public Comment Registration Form (found in the BOE meeting room) stating their name, eligibility for comment, and comment topic.  

Eligible comments will be permitted in the order in which they are received until the conclusion of the public comment period. Individual comments shall be limited to 3 minutes, unless extended by the Board President or presiding officer.

Individuals who are unable to attend Board Meetings in person, or otherwise do not wish to make public comment, will have the opportunity to submit written public comments. Written public comments will not be read aloud during Board Meetings, but will be shared with Board members and included in the Board packet. To be included, written public comments must be submitted by 12:00 PM the day of the Board Meeting to the Superintendent or designee. Written comments must clearly indicate that they intend to be submitted as such, and must include the name, address, and basis for eligibility of the commenter.

All public comments, whether made at Board Meetings or given as written comment, must comply with the following:

1. Comments may not address complaints or grievances involving individual students or staff members. Concerns about individual staff members should be addressed with the staff member’s immediate supervisor and/or the Superintendent or designee. Employee grievances should be addressed in accordance with the Employee Handbook.  
2. Comments may not include threatening, abusive, harassing, or obscene language, at the discretion of the Board President or presiding officer. 
3. Comments may only address topics related to the operation of the District.      
4. Commenters will not be permitted to give comments that are duplicative or substantially similar to comments made by the same commenter at a previous Board Meeting. Comments that are duplicative or substantially similar to comments made by other commenters, whether at the same or a prior Board Meeting, will be permitted at the discretion of the Board President or presiding officer.  

Board Members will not respond to questions or otherwise engage in dialogue with commenters during the public comment period, except to raise objections with the Board President or Presiding Officer regarding comments they feel violate the paragraph above. At the discretion of the Board President or presiding officer, Board Members may be permitted to give brief responses to topics raised during public comment, but the Board may not take any action on a topic or issue raised in public comment unless the topic or issue was already part of the publicly noticed meeting agenda.