The Board of Education values input from our community including parents and staff. At Board work sessions and regular board meetings, the Board holds an open forum allowing the public an opportunity to share feedback and/or concerns. Board of Education Policy 187 addresses public forums.
Members of the public may provide written comment to the Board of Education. They may do so by filling out the virtual public participation form. All written comments will be shared publicly on BoardDocs.
Members of the public who wish to speak in-person during open forum can download the public participation form from the agenda in BoardDocs or can pick one up at the meeting. Forms should be turned in to the Board secretary, or designated individual prior to the meeting. The form requests the speaker to provide contact information and a brief statement as to the feedback and/or concern, in case follow-up after the Board meeting is requested.
Individuals may participate in open forum virtually for the Regular Board meetings and Work Sessions. To do so, they must fill out the virtual public participation form prior to 3:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Any forms completed after 3:00 p.m. will be accepted as written comment only and provided to Board of Education members. On the form, please check the box indicating that you wish to speak, and provide a working telephone number. During the open forum agenda item at the beginning of the board meeting, you will be called (from an out-of-state phone number) at the phone number you provided on your form. Once you are connected into the meeting, the Board President will indicate when you should begin speaking. Speakers may wish to watch the livestreamed meeting on YouTube to have a better understanding as to when they may be called. Please note that the livestream does have a delay. Please mute your computer or any other electronics you may have in the room when calling to eliminate background noise. The same Board Meeting Protocols that apply during in person Board of Education meetings apply for virtual meetings.
The District and Board reserves the right to end a Speaker’s oral comment if the Speaker violates any of the Board Meeting Protocols.
- Members of the public are allowed five (5) minutes to speak.
- Speakers are asked to begin by stating their name and home address.
- A written copy of the comments is recommended, but not required, to ensure the Board clearly understands the concern/feedback and to ensure the issue can be directed to the correct person in the District.
- Please know that under open meetings law the Board is unable to address the speaker’s comments or answer questions, unless the topic was identified in the public posting of the Board agenda.
- Board meetings are videotaped and broadcast on Time Warner Cable as well as linked to the District website. If a speaker were to share personally identifiable information regarding students, the Board has a duty to not permit re-disclosure, and the District would redact that information from the video prior to broadcasting or sharing on the website.
- Board policy does not require that the individual live in the District attendance area in order to speak at open forum.
- To ensure due process and respect for individual rights, the district maintains a formal process for handling complaints against specific individuals found here. A problem involving an individual or specific incident is best handled through administrative channels, with the Board as the last level of appeal beyond the superintendent.
- If your comments require further follow up, the Board will direct a member of the District’s administration to follow up with you.
Meeting Conduct
To ensure that the Board can conduct the important business of the District, the following guidelines apply to all members of the public who attend Board meetings.
- The board asks that all members of the public treat open forum speakers, District employees and the Board with respect.
- Individuals are not permitted to engage in conduct that interferes with the ability of other individuals to watch the Board meetings, interferes with the ability of other members of the public to offer comment to the Board, or interferes with the ability of the Board to conduct its business.
- Demonstrations during public comments such as clapping or cheering in response to either public comments or statements made by Board members is discouraged.
- Those wishing to display placards, signs and/or banners may not block any attendee's view of the proceedings.
Closed Session
On occasion the Board of Education will publicly notice for a closed session. A closed session meeting is not open to the public. Under the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law, only those topics that are permitted to be discussed in closed session may be brought to closed session. Some of these permissible closed session topics may include personnel, litigation, negotiations of contracts, or hearings involving students or employees.
Special Board Meetings
The Board may hold Special Board Meetings, which are scheduled for action on matters that cannot wait until the next regular meeting. These meetings are open to the public. Only the specific topic on the special meeting agenda can be discussed. Special Board meetings do not include an open forum.