Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Engagement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public commenters urge board to widen curriculum advisory committee and increase transparency
Summary
Two community members told the Stillwater Area Public Schools Board that recent and proposed policy revisions exclude meaningful public input; speakers requested changes to committee composition, reporting and challenge processes for instructional materials.
Two residents used the meeting’s public-comment period to urge the board to require broader community representation in curriculum advisory processes and to make committee reports and minority opinions public when the district revises curriculum and materials policies.
Mike McCarthy told the board that policy 6.16 (district accountability and related committee rules) should be revised so that “at least two-thirds of the curriculum advisory committee not be employees or family members substituting for the broader community” and that committee reports include minority opinions and suggestions so the board can “make fully informed decisions in full public view.” McCarthy said the district brought a revision of its public-accountability policy forward sooner than scheduled and that, in his view, prior committee processes relied too heavily on staff and failed to provide parents and community members real influence over curriculum selections.
Nance Purcell, a Stillwater resident, addressed three topics: library services, block scheduling and board communications. She said she has seen improvements in the high school library’s appearance and described libraries as an important resource. On scheduling, she described block scheduling as an older model that the district should reconsider in favor of preparing students for current workplace and postsecondary demands. She also said she was concerned that employees who communicated dissent to the board had been contacted by human resources afterward, and she urged the board to “take into account public opinion” and teachers’ perspectives.
Board members and staff responded to questions about the District Curriculum Advisory Committee’s composition: when asked later in the meeting, administrators said the committee this past year included 3 high-school students, 1 school-board member, 9 staff members, 16 parents and 3 community members. The board’s policy committee and administration invited additional written feedback on proposed policy language.
Neither public commenter asked for a formal board vote during the session; the board took no immediate policy action during public comment but later continued discussion of policy 6.16 in its first reading.
