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Lynchburg school board rescinds June ban on public comments by Danny McCann
Summary
After debate over procedure and decorum, the Lynchburg City Schools Board unanimously rescinded a June 3 motion that had prohibited Danny McCann from making future public comments; trustees said they want assurances McCann will follow the board's public-comment rules.
The Lynchburg City Schools Board of Education voted unanimously June 17 to rescind a June 3 motion that had barred Danny McCann from future public comments.
Board members said the move followed discussion about procedure, precedent and whether McCann would abide by the board's public-comment rules.
Board member Doctor Davis, who had presided over the June 3 meeting, said she originally supported the ban after repeated interruptions. “If I had read the policy, he would have been reminded of the time limit for speakers and the prohibition against board members responding to questions or requests from commenters,” Davis said, adding she had counted eight times she asked McCann to stop during the June 3 remarks. She also told the board she expected the board "would be willing to rescind its prohibition of future public comments from Mr McCann," but said she wanted assurance he would follow the rules before she voted to rescind.
Several trustees echoed a desire to welcome McCann's input while preserving order. Trustee Connor said the board must “follow our rules” and that reminders of speaking limits should be read each meeting so commenters are not surprised. Trustee Lowry (spoken as Missus Lowry in the record) and others said they valued McCann's contributions and favored rescinding if he agreed to follow the rules.
Doctor Tinsley cited state law when urging clarity on consequences for disrupting a meeting: “There is an original code. It's 18.2 dash 4 15 that disallows any kind of disruption of a public meeting of the sort of a school board. And that is punishable as a class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia,” he said.
The board invited McCann to the podium. McCann told trustees he was “sorry that I stayed over the 5 minutes” but said he remained willing to meet and discuss student issues: “I take a meeting to be a place you listen, ask questions, and receive answers. … I'm willing to even stand up with some of you because we need to bring the community together.”
On the roll call to rescind, the clerk recorded yes votes from Trustees Connor, Andrews, Day, Gupta, Preston, DePaul, Lowry and Tinsley; the motion carried unanimously. After the vote the chair said, “Mr. McCann, you're welcome to come to every public comment from here on.”
The board's action restores McCann's ability to address the board during public comment but leaves in place the board's existing public-comment rules; several trustees emphasized that future noncompliance could prompt enforcement under board policy and state law.
