The Hastings School Board will vote at its meeting on Wednesday, March 27 to officially return public comment to occur during board meetings.
In August 2021, a previous board took it off the regular meeting agenda, citing fears that citizens may utter things that can’t legally be said at meetings, such as attacking staff or students. There are no members of that board on the existing board, with five new members elected in November and joining the board in January. All of those candidates included returning public comments to meetings in their campaign messages.
Hastings School Board Chair Carrie Tate said this week that the board is working toward the policy change that will bring public comment back, and a third and final reading of proposed policy language will be held March 27. If all goes as planned, public comment will return to meetings at the regular April board meeting, set for April 24.
Tate said this week there is a bill working its way through the Minnesota Legislature this session that would require public comment to be held during meetings. The district is keeping an eye on provisions in that legislation as it seeks to make its decision.
“The only real concern that exists right now is there are bills working through the legislatures, and they may have different requirements than what we currently have in the policy,” she said. “Our third reading is scheduled for our March business meeting. We realize obviously this is going through the legislature which may require us to change some things. We just had a conversation in our working session (held March 7) about whether we should hold off on approving this or just move forward with it knowing we may have to make a few changes right after we basically implement it. The plan now is to do the third reading and then public comment would go back into during the meetings in April. Obviously, the legislative session ends in May, so we may potentially be changing the policy again. Regardless, the proposed bills are having public comments during the main part of the meeting. There are just some extra things that go along with that. That was our only concern,” said Tate.
The district is still putting together its protocols and forms people will sign to be allowed to speak at meetings.
“It’s become a bit of a stage for some people to take advantage of that to be on camera, so we are redoing our forms that folks have to sign before they participate in public comment. We haven’t finalized that yet. It’s a bit more robust with things that people will commit to doing. It’s not finalized yet,” she said. “We are doing that to try to avoid the for lack of better term, showboating.
Tate is pleased with how the board has been working together since the start of the year when new members Jenny Wiederholt-Pine, Melissa Milner, Matt Bruns and Philip Biermaier joined Tate, Jessica Dressely and Mark Zuzek on the board, as four incumbents decided against seeking re-election.
“I feel really good about this board. We work well together. I’m excited about the future of our district. I really am. We have a phenomenal superintendent and a great staff,” she said. Superintendent Dr. Tamara Champa is in her first year leading the district.
When public comment was removed from the regular board meetings held in the Hastings Middle School Media Center and live streamed on Hastings Community TV, the board initially set up a public comment period prior to board meetings in an adjacent room that two board members attended. Late last year, they moved comment to 15 minutes prior to board meetings in front of the entire board, but the sessions weren’t aired. In both cases, board members reported during the meetings on comments received.
During the campaign, the Hastings Journal questioned candidates on their opinion on whether public comment should again be part of the regular meeting. Here’s their responses:
Pine: “Yes, the public should have the ability to share their ideas and concerns with the school board. Each meeting could have a designated amount of time to obtain public feedback.”
Millner: “I absolutely believe public input is vital. The board is elected by the people of this community. In order for our community to be able to make well-informed decisions and to be transparent, it’s important for the public comments to be televised during the meeting.”
Bruns: “Absolutely, I firmly believe in the importance of the public’s voice being heard in televised school board meetings. Public input is invaluable in shaping our educational policies and priorities. To ensure relevant and timely public comments, we can implement strategies such as setting clear agenda items for discussion, designating specific time slots for public comments related to those items, and imposing reasonable time limits for individual speakers. Additionally, leveraging technology to allow virtual participation and providing an online portal for written comments can broaden accessibility. Considering community feedback is an essential step to foster a more inclusive and transparent decision-making process that truly reflects the needs and aspirations of our community.”
Biermaier: “I’m a staunch advocate for open communication. I firmly believe that every parent and taxpayer should have the opportunity to express their disagreements with me directly. It’s not right to ask for financial support and then dismiss the voices of those who contribute. Rest assured, I may not always be the most knowledgeable person in the room, but I will always lend an ear to the concerns of the public. Whether I share your viewpoint or not, you deserve a platform to express your opinions.”
Other local school districts are split on how they handle public comment.
The Red Wing School District allows comments relating to the current agenda and not to exceed three minutes.
Farmington holds its public comment period 10 minutes before its meetings.
Champa previously was superintendent in Pine Island. Public comment is part of that district’s regular agenda, with speakers limited to five minutes with a maximum of 15 minutes per topic.
The South Washington County School District has public comment during its meetings with speakers allowed three minutes.
Burnsville-Eagan-Savage holds listening sessions prior to board meetings, as do Inver Grove Heights and Lakeville.
The Cannon Falls School District holds a public comment session within board meetings.
All district policies contain similar language, the Hastings policy included:
“Matters proposed for placement on the agenda which may involve data privacy concerns, which may involve preliminary allegations, or which may be potentially libelous or slanderous in nature shall not be considered in public but shall be processed as determined by the school board in accordance with governing law.
“The school board chair shall promptly rule out of order any discussion by any person, including school board members, that would violate the provisions of state or federal law, this policy or the statutory rights of privacy of an individual.
“Personal attacks by anyone addressing the school board are unacceptable. Persistence in such remarks by an individual shall terminate that person’s privilege to address the school board.”
