West Shore

School District

Staff Parents Students

Guidelines for Meetings and Comments

Public Participation Parameters

Pursuant to Board Policy 006: Meetings, the administration developed procedures establishing reasonable parameters for the organization of public comment. District students, parents, residents, taxpayers, partners, and community groups are eligible to share their comments with the Board.

In Person Attendance/Participation

Each resident/student wishing to comment shall have one (1) opportunity for public comment related to business items and one (1) opportunity for public comment regarding general items.

Requests to comment must be submitted prior to the start of the meeting.
Requests to comment must be submitted on the appropriate form (known as the blue card) available at the meeting. The form must be completed fully.
When addressing the Board in person, public comments will be limited to four (4) minutes.
The Board or Administration may respond to comments at their discretion.
Requests to comment received after the meeting has started will be provided to Board members following the meeting for review; however, individuals will not have the opportunity to speak publicly.
Should a new agenda item be added for discussion after the start of the meeting, public comment will be received on that new agenda item until the time that agenda-related public comments have concluded.

The Board and Administration values public comments and participation; however, to ensure meetings are conducted efficiently and in an orderly manner, individuals appearing before the Board are expected to follow these guidelines.

In person public comments will be timed and limited to four (4) minutes. If speaking as part of a group who shares the same interest, please consider selecting a spokesperson.
If you wish to distribute documents to the Board, provide them to the Board Secretary or Committee Administrator with this form. Submission of the documents will be noted in the minutes.
Comments are to be shared from the podium and directed to the entire Board, not one individual Board member, Administration, staff member, or the audience.
Speakers are expected to observe proper decorum.
Parents may share their own child’s name, but are asked not to mention other children by name.

Remote Attendance/Participation

Each resident/student wishing to comment shall have one (1) opportunity for public comment related to business items and one (1) opportunity for public comment regarding general items.

Electronic comments must be submitted by 12:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Comments should be sent via email to the Board Secretary at [email protected]. There is not an electronic form.
Electronic comment submission must contain the resident/student's full name, full postal address, organization if applicable, and school if the sender is a student. Without these details, the comment will not be shared with the Board. If not clearly identified as a student comment, the remarks will be considered a public comment.
Electronic comments received by 12:00 p.m. the day of the board meeting will be shared with board members in their entirety prior to the start of the meeting for their review.
The Board or Administration may respond to comments at their discretion.
Electronic comments received after 12:00 p.m. will be provided to Board members following the meeting for their review.

Please note that the District’s internet filters may automatically block messages that contain profanity, vulgar language, or subject lines/messages typed entirely in capital letters (all CAPS), as these may be flagged as spam. To ensure your comment is received, we recommend using respectful language, regular grammar capitalization, and a clear subject line.

Link to Board Meeting Livestream

Accommodations

To ensure all individuals have an opportunity to speak, any resident/student who needs a reasonable accommodation for public comment is requested to contact the Board Secretary at 717-938-9577 at least three (3) business days in advance of the meeting.