You lost some of your free speech rights last Thursday.
On February 17th, 2011 at approximately 7:30PM, the District 22 School Board took a vote that adopted a new District 22 policy concerning public participation at Board Meetings. In the 5 to 0 vote, Stefanie Dickinson, Sherri Jorgenson, Gary Lake, Todd Schainost, and Bea Twist voted to prohibit any member of the public from being allowed to address the school board, unless they submitted the topic and comments to the school superintendent 2 days prior to the board meetings, and were APPROVED to speak.
According to the new policy, if you want to show up at a school board meeting and ask a question, or even tell the board you think they are doing a good job – you no longer have that option. Instead, two days prior to any meeting, you must tell the Superintendent of schools (H.Terry Ebert), the topic of your concern, and what comments you wish to make at the board meeting. If the superintendent thinks it is a good idea, and approves your comments, you will be put on the agenda to be allowed to talk during the public input part of a board meeting. You will still be limited to no more than 5 minutes, and you may not stray from your approved topic and comments. Further, if several individuals wish to talk about the same issue, then you must choose one individual to speak for the entire group.
When Stefanie Dickinson was asked why the new policy was necessary, she stated it was necessary to allow the board to consider any questions the public might ask, and decide if they want to answer those questions. The new policy does not mandate a response from the school board, only says they may respond if they wish.
Many citizens in the District 22 school district do not approve of this limitation on free speech, and several have stated that a recall is in order.
So I am asking the community a question.
Should a recall petition be started against the school board members for voting to limit your right to speak at a board meeting, and other reasons.
Please send your comments to: excellentellicottschools@hotmail.com
