Mount Vernon board agrees to trial public comment at work sessions, superintendent pushes work-session focus on student outcomes

Mount Vernon City School District trustees voted by consensus during their July 15 work session to suspend a standing rule and allow public comment tonight while the board reviews policy 15‑20 governing work sessions. Superintendent Dr. Strickland told trustees the district will use work sessions to shift the board’s focus from routine operational approvals to student achievement, curriculum and long‑term strategy. “What gets monitored gets done and that's going to be paramount to bring to the board of ed,” she said. The board president, Maribel Arba, opened the meeting by asking trustees whether they objected to allowing public comment tonight despite a prior notice that work sessions were not subject to public comment under board policy 15‑20. “We are asking our trustees if there's no objection, if we may suspend the rules for this evening and allow the public comments to proceed,” Arba said, and later announced,…