Board Meeting Participation

Meetings of the Board of Education are held to conduct the affairs and business of the school system. Although these meetings are not meetings of the public, the public is invited to attend all meetings and members of the public are invited to address the Board at appropriate times and in accordance with procedures established by the Board or the Superintendent.

All presentations by the public to the Board are to be brief, clear and to the point, with the topic of the presentation being submitted in writing using a Visitor Comment Form which is available on the website or at the Board office. Presentations are intended for the Board to hear comments or concerns without taking action. Unless an extension of time is granted, the presentation may not exceed three minutes. Time cannot be shared or passed to other citizens.
 
Citizens may make reports, requests or register concerns to the Board when it meets in regular session provided the citizen fills out a Visitor Comment Form and submits it to the Superintendent’s office no later than 24 hours before the regularly scheduled Board meeting in order to ensure the Chain of Command has been followed per Board Policy CD. The Board will not consider or act on complaints that have not been explored at the appropriate administrative level or if the appropriate chain has not been attempted. Any item added to the agenda after the initial release of the agenda on Saturday morning will be eligible for visitor comments. A Visitor Comment Form regarding any added agenda item must be submitted to the Board Clerk prior to the start of the Board meeting.

The Board chairperson, or other presiding officer, shall be responsible for calling on all speakers, for maintaining order, for adhering to the time limits set, and has the authority to terminate the remarks of any individual when he/she does not adhere to the rules and guidelines established. Criticism of school system personnel is not appropriate at public meetings.
 
When acknowledged by the Board chairperson, or other presiding officer, a speaker shall give his or her name and the group, if any, that he or she is representing. Groups will be urged to designate a spokesperson. The individual should speak to the Board, not the audience. The topic should be the same as the one on the Visitor Comment Form. No profane and/or vulgar language or personal abuse against any person will be permitted.
 
Per Board Policy BCBI/KCA the Visitor Comments Form (see sidebar) must be completed and submitted to the Superintendent's office no later than 24 hours before the regularly scheduled Board meeting. This form may be mailed or hand-delivered to 200 Double Springs Church Rd., Monroe, GA 30656 or e-mailed to jdial@walton.k12.ga.us.

Meetings of the Board of Education are held to conduct the affairs and business of the school system.  Although these meetings are not meetings of the public, the public is invited to attend all meetings and members of the public are invited to address the Board during the visitor comments in accordance with procedures established by the Board or the Superintendent.

All presentations by the public to the Board are to be brief, clear and to the point, with the topic of the presentation being submitted in writing using a Visitor Comment Form which is available on the website or at the Board office. Presentations are intended for the Board to hear comments or concerns without taking action. Unless an extension of time is granted, the presentation may not exceed three minutes.  Time cannot be shared or passed to other citizens.

Citizens may make reports, requests or register concerns to the Board when it meets in regular session provided the citizen fills out a Visitor Comment Form and submits it to the Superintendent’s office no later than 24 hours before the regularly scheduled Board meeting. Citizen complaints and concerns will be referred to the Superintendent for review and action as required. Any item added to the agenda after the initial release of the agenda on Saturday morning will be eligible for visitor comments. A Visitor Comment Form regarding any added agenda item must be submitted to the Board Clerk prior to the start of the Board meeting.

The Board chairperson, or other presiding officer, shall be responsible for calling on all speakers, for maintaining order, for adhering to the time limits set, and has the authority to terminate the remarks of any individual when he/she does not adhere to the rules and guidelines established. Criticism of school system personnel is not appropriate at public meetings.

When acknowledged by the Board chairperson, or other presiding officer, a speaker shall give his or her name and the group, if any, that he or she is representing. Groups will be urged to designate a spokesperson. The individual should speak to the Board, not the audience. The topic should be the same as the one on the Visitor Comment Form. No profane and/or vulgar language or personal abuse against any person will be permitted.

In order to provide a professional and courteous forum for citizens to bring concerns and issues before the Walton County Board of Education, we ask that all speakers be aware of the following guidelines:

• In accordance with Board policy, only those individuals who have submitted a completed Visitor Comment Form to the Superintendent’s Office no later than 24 hours before the beginning of the regularly scheduled Board meeting will be allowed to speak.
• When called upon to speak, each speaker will identify him or herself and will indicate the group, if any, which he or she represents.
• Each speaker will be allowed 3 minutes.
• Time may not be yielded by one speaker to another.
• Comments should be brief, clear, and to the point and must be addressed to the Board and not directed to the audience.
• The topic addressed must be identical to the one submitted on the Visitor Comment Form.
• Board members will not respond at this meeting to comments or questions from speakers.
• The Board chair has the authority to terminate a speaker’s presentation to the Board for disruptive and otherwise, unacceptable behavior, including, but not limited to, abusive, profane, or vulgar language; threatening behavior or words; personal attacks on Board members, school district employees, or other citizens; intimidation; or taunting, and the speaker may be removed from the Board meeting for such conduct as permitted by OCGA 20-2-58.