Speed Gibson: North by Northwest – The Agenda

North by Northwest – The Agenda

As I said at the outset, I’m really not here to debate the parental rights issues in play here. Here, I want to talk about the published meeting agenda. I came to hear Agenda Item #4: Public Comments, which followed the Call to Order (#1), Pledge of Allegiance (#2), and District Mission Statement (#3). It was limited to 30 minutes, with individual speakers asked to limit their presentations to 3 minutes. And – to be "civil, courteous, thoughtful, and respectful."

While two speakers went over that 3 minute limit, 11 were heard in about 33 minutes. But with maybe 30 District teachers and staff arriving early, flooding the speaker queue, only supporters of the controversial District policy in question were heard.

This meeting ended about 6:15 PM. Many prior meetings have lasted significantly longer, which makes me wonder why all could not be heard. Were I on the Board, given the short business agenda, I would have made a motion to resume Public Comments after the business items were complete. That would be courteous. That would be respectful.

I would further challenge the Board on even allowing District employees from participating in this forum. They have other, more effective ways to be heard within the organization and their unions, using the proper chains of command. It should make the Board nervous that they could, even unintentionally, present "misinformation" that, even if true, one could infer to be District policy.

Minnesota’s public schools are based on local control, as in Independent School Districts. Yes, there are elections, but current events like COVID and unexpected changes should justify hearing resulting questions and reactions from the parents and taxpayers who wish to be heard. All of them.

Next: The Sound and the Fury

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