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Parents, students urge board to restore early public‑comment slot and protect marginalized students
Summary
Community members speaking at the Jan. 21 meeting criticized a change that moved most public comment to the end of meetings, said the shift creates a barrier for working families, and urged the district to enforce protections for Black, Native and LGBTQ students during Black History Month and beyond.
Several community members used the Jan. 21 public‑comment period to press the Peninsula School District Board about changes to the public‑comment process and to raise concerns about curriculum and student safety.
Dr. Anne Genode told the board the district recently changed its public‑comment scheduling so that comments related to agenda items are heard near the start of the meeting while other public comments are heard at the end. Genode said the change is out of step with neighboring districts (she cited North Kitsap, South Kitsap and Tacoma) and that moving general comments to the end of a long meeting can be a practical barrier for working families. She said parents who arrive to sign up before 6 p.m. must sometimes wait multiple hours to speak and that the change could have a “chilling effect” on public participation.
Chris Doherty, a parent of two district students, said he expects an increase in harassment and calls for book censorship in the coming weeks and urged the district to “stand firm and support our diverse students,” including by strictly enforcing the district’s zero‑tolerance policy for slurs.
Diane Nelson said she supports what she described as federal actions defending biological sex and asked the board to “remove false gender ideologies from the curriculum,” arguing those changes are necessary to protect students. Nelson referenced international studies and said she has previously raised concerns about allowing biological males who identify as women into girls’ sports and facilities.
Carol Rivera, president of the Peninsula Education Association, acknowledged the board’s work and recommended that any district grants and nonprofit lists for robotics and STEM be broad and inclusive. Rivera asked the board to ensure grant opportunity language does not name a single nonprofit and thereby exclude other existing robotics organizations that support student programs in the district.
Why it matters: public‑comment rules determine who can realistically participate and when, and speakers’ requests — from changes to meeting procedures to curriculum and student‑safety policy enforcement — are matters the board can address or clarify at future meetings.
Direct quote: "Now if a working parent or community member wants to communicate to the board … they have to arrive before 6 PM to sign up and then wait for what can and has been multiple hours until the end of the meeting to speak," Dr. Anne Genode said.
