BOE Public Comment Procedure & Form

Board of Education
Dolgeville Central School District
38 Slawson Street
Dolgeville, N.Y. 13329

Public Comment Procedures & Participation
“Public comment is the portion of the board meeting that affords a district’s community the opportunity to address the board with their concerns and comments.”

While there is no legal requirement that members of the public be entitled to speak at Board of Education meetings, the Dolgeville CSD Board of Education feels that matters relating to the common good of the school system should have a forum. Therefore, at each Board of Education meeting, members of the public may express ideas or place questions before the Board of Education.

It is essential, however, to point out that matters that clearly fall within the purview and jurisdiction of Building Principals should first be discussed at that level, then with the Superintendent, and only then placed before the Board of Education.

The Board of Education recognizes its responsibility to conduct the business of the District in an orderly and efficient manner and will therefore require reasonable controls to regulate public presentations to the Board of Education. Which include:

  1. Any individual wishing to speak must sign and complete the form (link below) prior to the start of the BOE meeting and no later than 5:45 p.m. and must identify the topic of their comments ahead of time to determine whether the topic is appropriate for discussion in public.

  2. A person wishing to be heard by the BOE shall first be recognized by the President. He/She shall then identify him/herself and precede with his/her comments as briefly as the topic permits.

  3. The President is responsible for the orderly conduct of the meeting and shall rule on such matters as the time to be allowed for public discussion, the appropriateness of the topic being presented, and the suitability of the time for such presentation.

  4. The BOE as a whole shall have the final decision in determining the appropriateness of all such rulings.

  5. Each speaker should limit his/her expression to a maximum of three (3) minutes. The BOE may opt to respond or refer to the ideas and questions as the context of the idea or question suggests, but the BOE is not obligated to respond to any speaker expression. No more than one-half (½) hour shall be devoted to public participation at any one BOE meeting.

  6. So that the one-half (½) hour time limit for public comment is not exceeded, the BOE President may consider requesting that any group of individuals wishing to address the BOE identify a single spokesperson.

  7. The use of obscenities, defamatory statements and threats of violence during public comment at a BOE meeting are prohibited and are not protected by the First Amendment.

  8. Individuals requesting to participate during the public comment section of the Dolgeville CSD Board of Education meeting must sign and date the form (linked below) to demonstrate they understand and will follow the BOE’s expectations for public comment participation.

  9. For the purpose of “Follow-up”, Individuals are asked to provide their contact information, so that the Dolgeville BOE President, Superintendent, or Designee, may communicate back in writing, by phone, email, or in person. This information will be provided on the form linked here: Public Comment Procedures & Participation Form.