At each regular and special open meeting, the members of the public and District employees may comment on or ask questions of the Board, subject to reasonable constraints.

The individuals appearing before the Board are expected to follow these guidelines:

1. Address the Board only at the appropriate time as indicated on the agenda and when recognized by the Board President.
2. Identify him or herself and be brief. Ordinarily, such comments shall be limited to 5 minutes. In unusual circumstances, and when the person has given advance notice of the need to speak for a longer period of time, such person may be allowed to speak for more than 5 minutes.
3. The Board President may deny a person the opportunity to speak for more than 5 minutes. The President may also deny such opportunity to a person who has previously addressed the Board on the same subject.
4. The Board President shall have the authority to determine procedural matters regarding public participation not otherwise defined in Board of Education policy.

The Sterling Education Association (SEA) shall be recognized at the beginning of the "Communication from Visitors" section of Board meetings. The association will be allowed a maximum of 30 minutes to make comments. Under special circumstances by a majority vote of the Board, the time limit may be extended.

A 30-minute time limit for communications from all other visitors is established with the time period commencing at the conclusion of any remarks from the SEA. Under special circumstances by a majority vote of the Board, the time limit may be extended.

Any citizen wishing to address the Board is encouraged to use a written form which shall be made available at the meeting. The citizen shall give the form to the Board President or to an administrator prior to the "Communications from Visitors" section of Board meetings.

Citizens wishing to present detailed proposals shall summarize such proposals in writing to the Superintendent not later than the Friday before a regular meeting. Questions which require background information for a response should also be submitted to the Superintendent not later than the Friday before a regular meeting. If a written detailed proposal or question requiring background information is not received by the deadline, the citizen may still be heard during the "Communications from Visitors" section of the Board meeting, subject to the provisions above.

Petitions or written correspondence to the Board shall be presented to the Board of Education by the Superintendent at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting or in the Board packet prior to the next regular meeting.

LEGAL REF.: 105 ILCS 5/10-6 and 5/10-16.

CROSS REF.: 2.220

Adopted: March 28, 1996

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