1. ARRIVAL TIME - the meeting begins at 9:30am. Due to the small size of the board room and the recent uptick in attendance for these meetings, we STRONGLY encourage you to arrive no later than 8:30am. This will allow you to form a line outside the inside entrance to the board meeting. The door to that hallway will remain closed until right before the meeting. At that time, whoever is in line closest to that door will have first dibs on in-room seating and public comment sign up. Arriving early is key.
2. LOCATION - the meeting will be held at the Oliver Hodges building where the State Dept of Ed is located. The address is 2500 N Lincoln Blvd. It is NE of the State Capitol building.
3. PUBLIC COMMENT RULES - Prior to the commencement of the Board meeting, a sign-up sheet will be made available for individuals desiring to provide public comment to the Board. YOU MUST SIGN IN TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK.
"Agenda Items" - Agenda will be posted on our social media channels 24hrs prior to the meeting. Patrons may speak to the Board on any matter set forth on the current board agenda. A time limit of four (4) minutes will be allowed for each speaker addressing an item set forth on the current board agenda. THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE # OF PEOPLE THAT MAY SPEAK TO AN AGENDA ITEM.
"Non-agenda Items" - 3 individuals per board meeting may speak to matters not on the current board agenda. Provided, however, a time limit of three (3) minutes will be allowed for each speaker addressing a matter not set forth on the current board agenda. Only the first three (3) individuals who have signed up to speak will be recognized during the Public Comment period and will be recognized in the order in which they have signed in. NOTE - sometimes they limit the # to 3 speakers on non-agenda items, sometimes they do not. They reserve the right to be able to do so, especially if there are a large number of people signed up to speak. They must be taken in order of sign in, so it is VERY important for public ed advocates to be at the first of the line to sign in, especially for non-agenda items.
4. PUBLIC COMMENT SUGGESTIONS/TIPS - If you are wanting to address the board, your most solid strategy is to speak to an agenda item since those speaker #s are not limited. We will post the agenda on our social media channels 24hrs before the meeting, so you will have time to prepare based off the items listed. If your topic is off-agenda, still come prepared to speak, but understand that those slots might end up being limited. We will make arrangements post meeting to meet at the Capitol to film any speakers that are not allowed to speak. This film will be made available to the public. Location TBA the day prior.
BE PREPARED - Agenda items get 4 minutes, non-agenda get 3 minutes. We strongly encourage you to either write up your comments ahead of time, or at least craft bullet points to help you stay on track.
Be professional and respectful in your delivery.
Speak clearly and into the microphone - since the room itself is small, many public comment participants don't do a good job of utilizing the mic and this inhibits the online audience from hearing what you have to say.
5. ATTIRE - We ask that attendees wear red public ed supportive attire or a shirt specific to your school district. Since not all attendees will be speaking, this will provide a strong visual message to the board, other attendees, those streaming online, and the media outlets that public school advocates are in the room.
6. SHOW UP - Even if you are NOT planning on speaking during public comment, your attendance is VERY important. These meetings have not traditionally been attended by many parents or educators. Children and students are welcome and encouraged to attend.