Agenda Items and Public Participation

Revised: 6-13-12 (Combined BDDB, BDDC, and BDDH) 5-8-24

Philosophy

To maintain a sense of order and direction at Board Meetings, the South Sanpete Board of Education shall follow a predetermined agenda in carrying out the business of the District and providing an opportunity for citizen dialog.

Policy

The Superintendent is primarily responsible to prepare the agenda for Board Meetings. Any Board Member, staff member, student, or citizen of the District may suggest agenda items; however, the inclusion of such items shall be at the discretion of the Superintendent and Board President. Items to be placed on the agenda must be received by Friday morning prior to Board Meeting. The Board may not take any action on items that are not on the agenda; however, they may choose to discuss them.

The agenda, with accompanying information, shall be distributed electronically to Board Members, the Business Administrator, and the Assistant Superintendent several days before Board Meeting. With the exception of the Closed Meeting items, the Board agenda and accompanying information shall also be posted on the District’s Website for public review.

Agenda Format

The following agenda shall be utilized in transacting business of the South Sanpete Board of Education at its regular monthly meetings:

1. Patriotic Tribute and Invocation
   1. Student Achievement and Recognition
   2. Employee/Volunteer Recognition
2.  Citizen Dialog
3. Business Affairs
   1.        Minutes
   2.       Warrants
   3.       Budget Report
4. Items from Board Members
   
   1. Professional Development
   2.     Reports/Articles
5.  Reports
   
   1. Student Achievement
   2.  Committees
   3.       Superintendent
6. Information Items
7. Action Items
   1. Policy Review/Revision

Public Participation at Board Meetings

Every meeting of the Board shall be open to the public unless closed pursuant to Utah Code §§ 52-4-204, 52-4-205, and 52-4-206.

Utah Code § 52-4-201(1) (2006)

Public comment

At open meetings other than work sessions or emergency meetings, the Board will receive verbal and written comments from the public on topics which are germane to the Board’s authority. Written comments can be submitted by sending them through email to the Superintendent before the meeting or by hand delivering them to District staff members at the meeting. Written comments will not be read at the meeting but will be provided to the members of the Board and will be included in the meeting minutes. Verbal comments at the meeting shall be received from members of the public who sign up prior to the time for public comment and will be taken in the order that individuals sign up. Each individual will be allowed up to 3 minutes to provide comments to the Board. The Board’s agenda will allow up to 30 minutes for citizen dialogue.

Utah Code § 52-4-201.3 (2023)

The Board does not by allowing public comment endorse any such comment. Therefore, persons providing comment bear any and all legal liability which may arise under governing law from making such comments. For example, defamatory comments about specific individuals may expose the commenter to legal liability from those individuals; similarly, threats of violence towards other individuals may expose the commenter to prosecution.

The public comment period is to allow members of the public to provide input to the Board in its capacity as a legislative body. The public comment period is not a forum for discussion or debate between the Board and members of the public. The Board does not engage in discussion during public comments, but may later follow up on comments made during public comment.

Public hearing

A public hearing is an open meeting at which members of the public are given a reasonable opportunity to comment on a subject of the meeting. The Board shall hold a public hearing when considering whether to close a school or change the boundaries of a school, when submitting a ballot issue regarding bond authorization or a tax increase, when considering the adoption of the District budget, before authorizing issuance of bonds, and when considering changes to the Board member compensation schedules, as required by statute.

Utah Code § 11-14-318 (2023)
Utah Code § 53G-4-402(23) (2023)
Utah Code § 53G-7-303(3) (2019)
Utah Code § 53G-4-204(2) (2023)
Utah Code § 59-1-1605 (2016)

Comments are not allowed regarding the following subjects:

      Bidding or contract matters, employment or personnel issues, complaints, criticism, or personal attacks against individual students, employees, or other citizens.  Grievances, complaints, or other issues that are governed by specific hearing, appeal, or negotiation procedures. Policy JECE Grievance Procedure should be followed for these issues.

Interference with conduct of Board meetings

Those in attendance at Board meetings are prohibited from interfering with the conduct of the meeting by demonstrations, whether audible or visual or by conduct. Those who do not abide by Board procedures for orderly presentation of comments when permitted may be asked to leave or the Board may use appropriate legal means to remove those disrupting the meeting.

Distribution of handbills, flyers, or other printed materials by members of the public is prohibited during Board meetings. Similarly, members of the public may not circulate petitions or similar requests for participation during a Board meeting.

USBA training session for board members

In the event the Board or any of its members meet with representatives of the Utah School Boards Association (USBA) for the purpose of receiving or participating in instruction regarding Board functions or activities, and not for the purpose of discussing or acting upon a subject over which the Board has jurisdiction, the Board is not required to comply with the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act, Utah Code § 52-4-101 et seq.

If more than two Board members are present in such meetings, the Board members shall not discuss or act upon any specific matter over which it has jurisdiction. Board members will discuss only matters relative to the instruction they receive from USBA representatives.

If Board members determine in an instructional meeting with representatives of USBA that there is a need to discuss or act upon a subject over which the Board has jurisdiction, then the Board and its members must comply with the Open and Public Meetings Act, Utah Code § 52-4-101 et seq., prior to discussing or acting upon such matters.

Recognizing its responsibility for proper governance of the schools and the need to conduct its business in an orderly and efficient manner, the Board shall allow citizen dialog on school related matters under the following conditions:

1. At the beginning of each Meeting, the Board shall schedule no more than 30 minutes for Citizen The Board President shall recognize, introduce, and monitor all patrons who are scheduled to participate during this time, plus set time limits and maintain proper order.
2. There shall be a recommended time limit for individual patrons of five If a group is being represented, their designated spokesperson may have 10 minutes. The length of the Citizen Dialog, and the proposed time limit for individual patrons, may be extended by action of the Board President.
3. All patrons who address the Board may also provide a written copy or synopsis of their proposal or additional information and comments for the
4. Anyone wishing to speak before the Board, either as an individual or as a spokesperson for a group, shall inform the Superintendent of the desire to do so and of the topic to be discussed, preferably one week prior to Board This will permit orderly scheduling of pubic remarks on the Board Meeting agenda.
5. The intent of the Board is to listen to citizen concerns or requests and respond in a timely manner. Questions and comments requiring further investigation shall be referred to the Board or administrative staff for consideration and later
6. Comments and questions at a regular meeting may deal with any topic related to the Board's conduct of the Comments at special meetings must be related to the call of the meeting.
7. Individuals addressing the Board may be reminded that Members of the Board are without authority to act independently as individuals in official matters. Thus, questions may be directed to individual Board Members, but answers may be deferred pending consideration by the full Board or
8. Patrons who disrupt Board Meetings or the business of the Board by applause, cheering, jeering, or personal outbursts may be removed from the Meeting by appropriate legal means. Speech that defames the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual, or interrupts the public business of the Board will not be tolerated and may be cause for removal from the The Board, at its option, may adjourn the Meeting at any time.
9. The President will not recognize members of the public as the Board conducts its official business except when the Board schedules, in advance, an interim public discussion period on a particular agenda item or when those in attendance are present as a resource to the item being discussed.
10. The Board will not take public comment on personnel issues during Board Meeting. Communications regarding personnel issues should be sent in writing to the Superintendent or Board President.
11. Patrons may not address the Board on the same issue more than once in a three-month period except by action of the Board.
12. Attendance at Board Meeting is subject to the seating capacity of the room in which the Meeting is held. Whenever possible, the Board will attempt to accommodate overflow seating.
13. The length of time scheduled for Citizen Dialog shall be stated at the bottom of the agenda with the following information:

Persons requesting to speak to the Board of Education in an Open Meeting need to notify the Superintendent’s Office, preferably the Friday prior to Board Meeting, to be placed on the agenda. Resolutions of questions or responses to proposals should not be expected at this Meeting. Staff or others may be asked to research and/or prepare materials, recommendations, and/or solutions for a later time. Up to thirty minutes will be scheduled for Citizen Dialog. Three minutes will be allotted for individual requests and five minutes will be allotted for a spokesperson of a group. Requests to address the Board will be assigned on a first-come basis. If the Board receives more requests than allotted time permits, those requests may be scheduled for the next Board Meeting. As a reminder, concerns or proposals may also be submitted in writing to the Superintendent for distribution to the Board of Education at any time.

Policy_BF_Agenda_Items_and_Public_Participation.pdf