Seattle School Board may limit remarks, spin off broader forum

Seattle School Board may limit remarks, spin off broader forum

By Sanjay Bhatt
Seattle Times staff reporter

Seattle School Board meetings soon may become more predictable — and, some say, closed to fresh ideas.

Now, any person can sound off for three minutes about anything. Taxpayers can criticize the district's budget. Parents can take issue with schools. District employees can blow the whistle on alleged wrongdoings.

People also occasionally sing, dance and complain about the state of America.

A proposal before the board would restrict public comments to those issues up for board action. The board would schedule a separate, monthly meeting that would serve as an open forum.

But some who frequently attend board meetings say that change amounts to censorship.

"One of the greatest strengths of having an open forum is hearing what's going on across the district," said parent Melissa Westbrook. "If something is going on at one school, it might be going on at your school."

The proposal, on which the board will vote tomorrow, comes as the board's meetings are about to become more accessible. In mid-October, meetings will be broadcast live on the district's Channel 26, and informational materials on board agenda items will be available on the district's Web site starting with the Oct. 5 meeting.

The board now allots about an hour for public comment at the beginning of each regular meeting. Board members say their proposal stems from frustration at having to sit and listen to a litany of complaints without getting a chance to resolve them.

Board members say they would prefer to have an in-depth conversation with citizens about chronic complaints at a separate time, an informal gathering they're calling "Community Conversations."

"We won't be trying to split our attention between what we need to get done on this Wednesday night and what the community wants to have a conversation about," said board member Darlene Flynn.

At Community Conversations, people would be able to speak for more than three minutes about topics they choose, she said.

Westbrook, a parent of two kids in Seattle schools, said she's worried that the board will set the agenda of the Community Conversations. She wonders if that meeting will be videotaped and broadcast like the legislative meetings, and she's skeptical of promises that district staff will be more responsive in answering the public's questions at a separate meeting.

Board President Brita Butler-Wall said the present system shuts out some people. For example, people on the wait list wishing to comment about an agenda item often don't get a chance to speak before the board moves on to business. And neither board nor staff members believe they have the time to adequately answer the public's questions at board meetings.

"In some cases, people are wanting the public testimony to serve functions that are kind of above and beyond what the board can do at that point," Butler-Wall said. "To me that shows they don't know what the process is."

Board member Sally Soriano said she will propose an amendment to continue allowing public comment on any topic at board meetings while phasing in Community Conversations over three or four months. Board member Irene Stewart said she prefers switching to the new format on a trial basis to see how the public responds.

Sanjay Bhatt: 206-464-3103 or sbhatt@seattletimes.com

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