Battle Ground School Board District 4 Director Mavis Nichols keeps time for a public speaker during a meeting at the Lewisville Campus. The board recently changed its open comments policy to three speakers for and against a topic. Speeches are also limited to three minutes.
Since the Battle Ground School Board changed its open comments policy to three speakers for and against a topic, giving each person three minutes to have their say, citizens are questioning members of the board if they have the legal right to do so.
“We changed the policy because we had a meeting that went deep into the night,” said board president Ken Root. “Not everybody can speak at the board meeting, but they can always write us. They can always visit us. ‘Let’s have coffee. Let’s talk about this.’ I absolutely encourage that.”
This new format does not sit well with Battle Ground teachers bargaining for higher pay and parents wondering about a new health curriculum being taught to their children. Dick Rylander, an active voice in local education via his blog, through social media and by often speaking at school board meetings, questioned the process itself in a public statement during the July 9 school board meeting.
“You may limit the amount of time you give to each speaker, and you have to three minutes. However, I cannot find any indication that you are allowed to limit the number of speakers,” he said. “If we look at the First Amendment, we find that in a public meeting run by public officials taking public comments that by limiting the freedom of speech you may well miss key information that comes from anybody who is speaking on any given topic.”
According to Washington State School Directors Association Executive Director Tom Garshow, there is no official ruling in the state law against limiting the number of individuals allowed to speak at an open public meeting.
“The board is allowed to set their rules for how they will take public comments and they are allowed to put structure into place on how that public comment time is spent,” Garshow said. “The law doesn’t say anything on whether they can or cannot set a limit on the number of speakers. What it does say is they can set limits on the amount of time they take public comments and what it looks like, as long as it’s balanced.”
He also provided an explanation why school boards decide to set a more streamlined timeframe for public comments.
“What people don’t often recognize is the reason why you do that,” Garshow said. “The reason why is because the board has to conduct monthly meetings. There’s a certain amount of business they need to take care of. Getting public comments is also important, so they have to find a balance of officially conducting a business and also allowing time for public input.”
