So you want to address the Indian River School County Board? New rules may be coming – TCPalm

VERO BEACH Every two weeks, individualscan voice their praises, concerns or complaints with the School Board uninterrupted forthree minutes.

The practiceenables speakersto share opinions on specific business-meeting items or bring up issues unrelated to the meetingagenda. Traditionally, it'sconducted after the meeting has begun and before board-member discussion. There have been no limits on how many people can speak or for how long.

But that soon could change, and proposed new rulesare generating both opposition and supportamong parents and community members.

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The purpose of changeswould be to focus on the meeting's agenda and steer conversation clear from politicalagendas and platforms, said member Peggy Jones, who proposed the changes. The idea, she said, came up at a recent Florida School Board Association meeting as a way to mitigate School Board meetings, which in recent months have at times becomes volatile.

Those in favor say the move wouldrefocus board members' attention on the meetingagenda. Those against itsay it would stripthem of their First Amendment rights.

In this instance, however,free-speech issues likely don't apply,according to the First Amendment Foundation.

Currently, speakers can sign up to address the board before itsbusiness meeting, which begins at 6 p.m., and are called to speak after the meeting has begun. Anyone can speak during that time about any school-related topic.

The proposed changes now under a 30-day public-reviewperiod and to be brought back in November would changewhen people speak and what they may speak about.They include:

Like Jones, board member Mara Schiff saidthe proposed change could ensure board members are able to discuss agenda items in a timely manner.

There's no intention to silence anyone, Schiff said, but when meetings get co-opted by topics not on the agenda, items often aren't discusseduntil 8 or 9 p.m., which, in many cases, comes hours after the first meeting earlier that morning.

Getting to important issues well into the eveninghas resulted in board members and the superintendent misspeaking simply because they're tired "and that's what we're trying to avoid," she said.

Furthermore, there are people, groups and organizations who feel uncomfortable attending meetings because the tone of citizen input can feel volatile and threatening, Schiff said. Part of the proposals intentis to create awelcoming atmosphere where people feel safe and comfortable when speaking directly to the School Board, she said.

Still, for Thomas Kenny,a county resident with no children in the district, moving any form of public commentoutside of the business meeting is a threat to citizens' rights.

But the change wouldn't violate anyone's rightsbecause itdoesn'tlimit or restrict a speaker's content or viewpoints, said Virginia Hamrick, staff attorney at the First Amendment Foundation.Moreover,the superintendent or presiding officer, such as a chairperson, has an interest in moving the meeting forward, so if the decision is made to keep the meeting orderly, the policy wouldn't violate speakers' rights, she said.

Nevertheless, Kenny said,"they're asking the public to go along with something that is unofficial (because) anything outsideof the official business meeting just becomes abatting around of ideas."

Former School Board member and parent Tiffany Justicecalled the proposalan attempt to suppress parents' concerns. Parents have become bookends, and making these changes would send a "horrible message to parents," she said.

Moreover, alternative outlets for communicating such as email are aren't valuable because many go unanswered, Justice said.

But that hasn't been the case forparent Wendy McDaniel. The change would be good and could encourage her and others to communicate more often via email instead of attending the meetingbecause doing so makes sense, she said.If an issueisn'ton the agenda, she said, the community "shouldn'texpect a face-to-face meeting" to talk about it.

Sommer Brugal isTCPalm's education reporter for Indian River, St Lucie and Martin counties. You can keep up with Sommer on Twitter @smbrugal and give hera call at 772-221-4231.

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So you want to address the Indian River School County Board? New rules may be coming - TCPalm