School board members at the Nov. 19 Alachua County workshop debated how visible they should be at upcoming community engagement events for the district’s comprehensive plan, raising concerns about intimidating participants and triggering open-meetings (Sunshine) requirements.

Doctor Rockwell argued that visible board presence can convert engagement into a question-and-answer session and intimidate participants, saying it risks changing the dynamic the consultants are trying to create: “people look to us and it becomes a q and a instead of providing input.” Several board members favored limiting in-event participation to preserve community-led input.

Legal counsel Mister Delaney cautioned that Florida cases and open-meeting law pose practical constraints if multiple board members attend the same event or are dispersed around a room. He warned about the difficulties of taking minutes onsite and ensuring the public can hear board-member comments if members are scattered: “There are definitely Florida cases that talk about in settings where the board is not up on a dais… they need to be in 1 location so other people can hear what all the board members have to say.”

As a practical compromise, board members discussed several mitigations: (1) limit attendance so only one board member is present at a given event and station that member at a sign-in or greeting table, (2) have staff or JV Pro capture comments and compile them into the engagement report, and (3) record a brief collective board greeting to be played during events to provide visible support without requiring attendance.

The chair then coordinated a voluntary sign-up so board members would cover different events while minimizing simultaneous attendance; members indicated which events they planned to attend as greeters rather than active participants. The board did not take a formal vote on attendance policy; rather, members agreed on an informal self-regulation approach and tasked staff and the consultant with ensuring all comments and materials are captured for the Jan. 12 workshop.

How this matters: The decision balances transparency and legal compliance with the consultants’ goal of community-led input. It also affects how the public will perceive access to elected officials during engagement and how the district documents input for later policymaking.