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Board debates where to place public comment and whether to prioritize students
Summary
Board members disagreed over whether student comments and accompanying parents should speak at the start of the meeting or whether general public comment should remain at the end. The discussion produced no formal vote but will be reconsidered for future agendas.
Board members at the Temecula Valley Unified School District meeting on Feb. 25 debated how to structure public comment time, particularly whether to prioritize students and parents by moving them to the beginning of the meeting.
Proponents argued moving student comments and parents to the front is fair to families with school obligations and gives students priority time. One board member said, "If the parent is with the kid, I think we should listen together," and another added, "The students and the parents? If the parent is with the kid, I think we should listen together." The board discussed making an exception for parents who accompany students while keeping general comments at the end.
Opponents cautioned that changing the order could restrict free speech and limit others who need to speak later in the evening. A board member said, "I don't know if we can restrict free speech and decide in that manner who gets to go ahead," and urged preserving the standard 30-minute public comment block so anyone can be heard. Another member noted scheduling and commute constraints for working parents and recommended finding a future agenda solution that accommodates more people, including options for remote participation.
No formal motion to change the district's public comment policy was adopted. Board members agreed to return the matter to a future agenda for further discussion and possible procedural changes.
