1. ARRIVAL TIME - the meeting begins at 9:30am. Due to the small size of the board room and the recent uptick in attendance for these meetings, we STRONGLY encourage you to arrive no later than 8:30am if you intend to speak. IMPORTANT - if you would like to get in the line to observe the meeting inside (since it is so hot), you will want to try to arrive much earlier than 8:30am. Last month, people started getting in line around 6:00am. The line will be outside of the Oliver Hodge Building. Once they open the front building doors, they will allow as many as can fit by fire code into the building to be sat in the board room, the hallway, or the overflow room. Whoever is in line closest to that door will have first dibs on in-room seating and public comment sign up. Arriving early is key.
2. LOCATION - the meeting will be held at the Oliver Hodges building where the State Dept of Ed is located. The address is 2500 N Lincoln Blvd. It is NE of the State Capitol building. PARKING - there is a ton of parking in the lot next to the Oliver Hodge Building. If they fill up, you can park in the residential neighborhoods NW/NE of the building and walk over.
3. PUBLIC COMMENT RULES - Prior to the commencement of the Board meeting, a sign-up sheet will be made available for individuals desiring to provide public comment to the Board. YOU MUST SIGN IN TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK. The sign in sheets are typically down the hallway near the entrance to the board room. Since the crowd is expected to be large, they may circulate the sign up sheet through the crowd in all areas. If they do not, politely save your seat and make your way down the hall to sign up by the boardroom.
"Agenda Items" - Agenda will be posted on our social media channels 24hrs prior to the meeting. Patrons may speak to the Board on any matter set forth on the current board agenda. A time limit of four (4) minutes will be allowed for each speaker addressing an item set forth on the current board agenda. THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE # OF PEOPLE THAT MAY SPEAK TO AN AGENDA ITEM.
"Non-agenda Items" - 3 individuals per board meeting may speak to matters not on the current board agenda. Provided, however, a time limit of three (3) minutes will be allowed for each speaker addressing a matter not set forth on the current board agenda. Only the first three (3) individuals who have signed up to speak will be recognized during the Public Comment period and will be recognized in the order in which they have signed in. NOTE - sometimes they limit the # to 3 speakers on non-agenda items, sometimes they do not. They reserve the right to be able to do so, especially if there are a large number of people signed up to speak. They must be taken in order of sign in, so it is VERY important for public ed advocates to be at the first of the line to sign in, especially for non-agenda items.
4. PUBLIC COMMENT SUGGESTIONS/TIPS - If you are wanting to address the board, your most solid strategy is to speak to an agenda item since those speaker #s are not limited. We will post the agenda on our social media channels 24hrs before the meeting, so you will have time to prepare based off the items listed. If your topic is off-agenda, still come prepared to speak, but understand that those slots might end up being limited.
BE PREPARED - Agenda items get 4 minutes, non-agenda get 3 minutes. We strongly encourage you to either write up your comments ahead of time, or at least craft bullet points to help you stay on track.
Be professional and respectful in your delivery.
Speak clearly and into the microphone - since the room itself is small, many public comment participants don't do a good job of utilizing the mic and this inhibits the online audience from hearing what you have to say.
5. ATTIRE - We ask that attendees wear red public ed supportive attire or a shirt specific to your school district. Since not all attendees will be speaking, this will provide a strong visual message to the board, other attendees, those streaming online, and the media outlets that public school advocates are in the room. You can bring signs if you like while waiting outside, but they will not allow those into the building.
6. SHOW UP - Even if you are NOT planning on speaking during public comment, your attendance is VERY important. These meetings have not traditionally been attended by many parents or educators. Children and students are welcome and encouraged to attend.
7. IF YOU ARE CUT OFF FROM PUBLIC COMMENTS AT ANYTIME OR CAN’T ATTEND AND WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT YOUR THOUGHTS TO US, YOU CAN DO SO BY FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS AT THIS LINK.