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Board considers limiting public comment: priority for residents, parents and staff proposed
Summary
Trustees reviewed a proposed revision to public comment rules (Policy 0167.3) that would define "legitimate interest" and prioritize taxpayers, parents of enrolled students and staff if comment time exceeds 20 minutes; board debate centered on fairness and enforcement mechanisms.
The Somerset School District board discussed proposed changes to its public comment policy that would define who has a "legitimate interest" in board actions and set a priority for speakers if the public comment portion of a meeting exceeds 20 minutes.
Under the draft language discussed by the board, "anyone having a legitimate interest may comment during the public portion of a meeting," with a parenthetical definition that lists "a taxpayer in the district, a parent with a child enrolled in the district, or a staff member in the district" as the groups with priority should time limits be reached.
Members debated both principle and practice. One trustee said she favored keeping the rule broad to allow non-residents to speak when relevant; another said prioritizing district residents and families is reasonable when time is limited. "If there's more than 20 minutes then we choose to limit the speakers to... a taxpayer, child enrolled in district, or staff," one member said. Several board members said the board president and district administrator retain discretion to include outside speakers by invitation.
Board members discussed logistics: whether to word the change as a priority rather than an exclusion, whether to allow the president to waive restrictions, and how to handle cases when invited experts from outside the district appear on the agenda. Several trustees suggested drafting language that gives priority to local stakeholders if the public portion exceeds 20 minutes and leaves flexibility to extend time by board vote.
The discussion ended with the chair noting the board is not voting on this language tonight; staff will prepare proposed wording for the next meeting so trustees can review suggested phrasing and implementation details.
No formal change to Policy 0167.3 was adopted at the meeting.
