Horry County Board of Education discusses public comments at meetings

The Horry County Board of Education had several comments and questions about the public comments section of their bi-monthly meetings.

The board held its annual development retreat Monday to discuss the district’s policies, progress and board performance with heads of district departments. The board did not vote on anything.

The meeting started out with a discussion on the effectiveness of the public comments section during each meeting.

Under current policy, anyone who wishes to speak to the board is alloted five minutes and must sign up online or in person before the meeting. The district allows for a 30 minute public comments section during each meeting – both work and business sessions – and speakers may address any topic within the district, even if it’s not on the agenda.

“Those are the ways we end up getting information from the public before they speak,” Kenneth Generette, staff attorney for Horry County Schools. “The public is allowed to come here and share their thoughts with you.”

Joe DeFeo, board chairman, questioned the effectiveness of allowing public comments during every meeting.

“Sometimes the comments seem unnecessary or just turn into rants that run over the allotted time,” DeFeo said. “I never even tried to get rid of public comments, though, and I don’t think it would particularly look good to get rid of them.”

Sherrie Todd, district 2 representative, argued that board members should be notified of a speaker’s planned topic earlier so they can research solutions or information prior to the meeting. Todd said giving people an “educated response” would give upset or curious speakers would defuse some issues early.

“Sometimes we just sit here and stare, and it would be nice to have a better answer to some of these questions,” she said.

John Poston, district 8 representative, said public comments are a good measure for how well or poorly the board is serving the community. Most meetings only have one or two people sign up for public comment – some meetings don’t have any speakers – which Poston said bodes well for the board.

While some comments are unrelated to any agenda items the board will discuss, most of the questions stem from relevant issues the board is facing. About a dozen people spoke to the board last year before the Personalized Digital Learning initiative, for example. The initiative gives each student in the district a digital device.

The program originally planned to spread to grades 3-5, but the expansion was reduced to fifth-grade only after several pleas for a total expansion from elementary school teachers.

“A large majority of the public comments are not action items – they are just because people want to speak,” Poston said. “But unless the comments are keeping us from doing our jobs, it’s a pretty good thermometer as to how we’re doing as a board.”

Superintendent Rick Maxey promised the district would help the board improve public comments section any way necessary. DeFeo, board chairman, suggested encouraging people to call or email their board representatives who can answer questions personally and specifically.

“There are a lot of people who have come into public comments after I’ve spoken to them beforehand, and had their questions answered, and didn’t have anything left to say to the board,” he said.

The solution, however, is not to get rid of the opportunity for anyone to speak to the entire 12-member board at one time, said Jeffrey Garland, district 11 member. The other board members and DeFeo agreed.

“One of the things email doesn’t do is that it’s not as passionate, and coming to a board meeting and speaking may be the only way some members of the community have to communicate with us,” Garland said.

This story was originally published September 21, 2015 at 8:32 PM with the headline "Horry County Board of Education discusses public comments at meetings."