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Rule in works in try to keep comments at meetings civil

Objective: Rein in personal attacks on board members

Monday, Sept. 28, 2009 | 2 a.m.

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The Clark County School Board’s patience is wearing thin with people who are more interested in lobbing insults than in useful discourse.

Board members have asked staff to come up with a warning to potential public speakers that personal attacks won’t be tolerated.

For first-term member Linda Young, who has been the recent target of a few of her West Las Vegas constituents, “it’s becoming badgering and harassment. We want to hear what you have to say. You have good ideas and recommendations ... at the same time, none of us up here relishes being smacked around.”

The current regulation says “members of the public are free to express themselves as they see fit, and are personally responsible for their comments.”

In a draft proposal, which the School Board has asked be refined, the warning reads: “Public comment, the content of which is irrelevant, beyond the authority of the board, willfully disruptive of the meeting, repetitious, slanderous, offensive, inflammatory, irrational, amounts to personal attacks or interferes with the rights of other speakers, is prohibited.”

The language came from a 2002 opinion by the Nevada attorney general about public meeting conduct.

•••

The School Board also voted Thursday for a two-month extension of a pilot program that allows the public to speak following the panel’s discussion of each agenda item and before each item is put to a vote. That’s the format used by most public bodies statewide. It was also the School Board’s formula until 1996, when members voted to limit public comment to one hour before the start of the meeting’s business.

The rules were revised again in 2007 — each speaker was allowed three minutes instead of five, no matter how many agenda items he wished to address. The School Board also lifted the mandate that public comment wrap up within an hour.

School Board Vice President Carolyn Edwards, who spearheaded the 6-month-old pilot program, said this should be the final extension, after which members need to decide whether the change should be permanent.

Chris Garvey, who joined the board in January, said she believes the meetings are easier for the public to follow now that comment and discussion are grouped separately for each agenda item before the vote.

Anyika Kamal, a member of the West Las Vegas community group WAAK-UP, urged the School Board to extend the time limit for individual speakers.

People become anxious when they have only three minutes to speak, Kamal said. And in many cases a board member agrees to recognize them for an additional two minutes anyway.

“If they had five minutes to start with, and the understanding that there is no more time after that, they would be able to come up here and take a deep breath,” Kamal said. “And then it may only take three minutes.”

As a result, “They’re calmer, you’re calmer, we’re all calmer — ‘Kumbaya’ and all that,” he said, to laughter by the board and audience. “I think you’ll have a more pleasant meeting.”

But those extra minutes can add up quickly, as Edwards pointed out. At Thursday’s meeting, 20 people signed up to speak, which in theory should have taken an hour. If each person had five minutes, the public comment session would have stretched nearly 90 minutes.

“We can’t do that in a business meeting,” Edwards said.

•••

Middle school musicians will be the beneficiaries of the Public Education Foundation’s newest nonprofit venture, “Making Music Matter ... Las Vegas.”

The district has 55 middle schools with about 12,000 students taking part in music and band programs, but there aren’t enough instruments to go around.

Volunteers will collect, repair, recondition and distribute used instruments — from piccolos to pianos. The campaign kicked off Saturday at the Henderson Pavilion with a special “March for Music” concert by the Nevada Pops. For more information, call 799-1042.

Discussion: 10 comments so far…

By rlkidd58

9/28/09 at 6:42 a.m.

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Poor babies can't take the heat.

If you are a piece of trash then people should be able to say that you are a piece of trash.
By vsestini

9/28/09 at 7:27 a.m.

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The city commission, county commission do not limit the discussion from the audience without comment and responsed from their boards like the CCSD. In fact Mayor Oscar Goodman allows input of questions, comments, suggestions etc and then has the decency to answer those.

The CCSD is a bunch of dictatorial dunderheaded PTA-Soccer moms more interested in running a High Tea Social hour meeting than listening to consituents and answering comments or questions. When they know nothing about running a school or school district why should be expect them to know anything about running an open meeting?

They want their meetings short and sweet with nice dance programs and music from the kids and to hell with those who may have travelled 90 miles from Searchlight to comment or complain. They want to go home early; we, the taxpayers, support their salaries and retirements, but they want to shortcut their time serving the public.
By KillerB

9/28/09 at 9:01 a.m.

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rlkidd58 has this one right.

People who put themselves into the public eye had better be prepared to take the public's attention, or make way for someone better suited for the job.

"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." -- George Orwell
By gmag39

9/28/09 at 12:08 p.m.

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killerB &rkidd,
Civility.
It ain't that tough, and everyone has a right to expect it.
Anything less is, well, uncivilized.
By KillerB

9/28/09 at 12:18 p.m.

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gmag39 -- so define "Civility" and be sure to include context.
By gmag39

9/28/09 at 12:30 p.m.

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If, for example, you were attending a Presidential speech as a member of Congress, and you screamed out "YOU LIE!" in the middle of the President's remarks.
That would violate the nature of expected decorum, (as well as house rule, as I understand) thereby "violating the civility of the proceedings."
But then, you didn't really need me to explain that to ya, did ya?
By KillerB

9/28/09 at 1:50 p.m.

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gmag39 -- so much for you defining and context. You are apparently clueless on the meaning of free speech, civic duties and "free to express themselves as they see fit, and are personally responsible for their comments."
By gmag39

9/28/09 at 2:08 p.m.

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killer;
whatever you say, apparently.
By vsestini

9/28/09 at 3:33 p.m.

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The school district has extensive public television facilities and could easily air all of its trustee meetings for the public to view. But, the trustees want non of that because they would then show their total lack of knowledge about education, running a district, controlling distric finances and questioning administrative policies, hirings, etc.,etc.

Basically, the trustees are just plain too dumb to be on television. They know it and they know their stupidity would show up. After all you would not be able to get your name engraved on some future school for posterity if the public knew just how dumb, stupid and ignorant you were as a trustee.

How could you get elected if a person from Searchlight drove 90 miles to ask a pertinent question but was refused more than 2 minutes to present the material and then denied any discussion or explaination by a trustee or board member present .

The citizens of the West Las Vegas community have every right to be angry at this board. Trustees do it to everytone and show no respect whatsoever. They have a right to call them a few choice names because they deserve it...they do not represent the good of the public but their own personal selfish, greedy interests.

Frankly, I hope the entire population of that area shows up at every meeting and raises real hell for their students. Those students are our future citizens as well and the parents and students both deserve more respect and consideration than they have been given lately.

Go Marzette Lewis, Joe Neal, Harvey Munford and Reverend Marion Benett...give 'em hell from now until you get your demands heard, the problems are resolved and are given the proper respect your community deserves as tax paying citizens.

Change is brewing in this Las Vegas Valley and they had better wise up....Trustees listen to the people or get your ass out of office.
By erikhuey

9/28/09 at 8:07 p.m.

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Friends:

I just started a blog called The Vegas Valley View (http://vegasvalleyview.blogspot.com/) and I posted a thread on this subject and some other items on note with respect to CCSD. I plan to make CCSD a high priority on my blog.

After blogging about public education in North Carolina (and running unsuccessfully for school board in NC), I would be interested in hearing your issues and concerns so that we can make CCSD a better place for our children. E-mail me on huey.erik@hotmail.com and lets talk further.

Erik Huey