WHAT
Kingston City Board of Education
Regular Board Meeting
WHERE
Cioni Administration Building
61 Crown Street
First Floor Conference Room
Uptown, Kingston
WHEN
Wednesday, January 9th
6:45pm: Sign-up to speak (outside door during Executive Session)
7:00pm: Public Comment
HOW
There are always two public comment periods during the BOE’s regular meetings: one at around 7:00pm (after the executive session) and one at the end of the meeting. Parents and/or citizens who wish to speak can sign-up outside the BOE meeting room while the board is in executive session. We recommend arriving at around 6:45pm to do so.
WHY?
It’s important to make it a habit to keep track of the Board of Education agendas and minutes and to address the board whenever there are questions, comments or concerns.
This month’s meeting will be important as parents and concerned citizens will be questioning procedure as it pertains the recent BB gun incident at C. Clifford Miller Middle School (and apparent other incidents throughout the school year).
By Rebecca Martin
In a recent article in the Kingston Times, it was reported that, “Concerned parents and community members are seeking answers from the Kingston City School District following a mid-December incident at M. Clifford Miller Middle School where a student shot a BB gun in a boys’ bathroom. School officials said the student involved in the incident has been suspended in accordance with district rules, but some are accusing the district of not taking it seriously enough.”
On Wednesday, January 9th the City of Kingston Board of Education (BOE) has their regular board meeting at the Cioni Administration Building conference room located on the first floor of 61 Crown Street in Kingston. Their AGENDA is available for review to give the public a sense of the flow of the evening. We expect tomorrow’s meeting to host concerned parents and citizens regarding the recent BB gun incident at C. Clifford Miller Middle School (and apparent other similar incidents that might have occurred throughout the school year).
There are two public comment periods, one at approximately 7:00pm (after the executive session which can sometimes go later depending on whether or not there is a lot to discuss) and one at the end of the meeting. Parents who wish to speak can sign-up outside the BOE meeting room while the board is in executive session. If you are not able to arrive in time to sign-up, the board typically asks if there is anyone else who would like to speak after all the people on the list have spoken. There is no sign-up for the second public comment period. A call for public comment will be made at that time, and attendees – whether having spoken already or not – will be invited to make any additional (or new) comments/questions.
Each speaker is limited to 2 minutes, though according to BOE trustee Robin Jacobowitz, “…we generally don’t put a time limit on the public comment session. The 30 minute limit cited in the policy allows us to limit…but when there are issues that bring people out to meetings we want to hear what people have to say and try to be sensitive that not everyone can stick around for the second public comment period.”
Public comment during a BOE regular meeting is an opportunity for the public to speak and share their concerns. It is not a time for dialog with the Board, as they do not respond during meetings – similar to public comment during Kingston Common Council meetings. Their role during the public comment segment is to listen.
If you wish to have a response to a concern, parents/citizens are asked to present it in writing after their public speaking with their contact information to the BOE clerk at the meeting. This does not have to be a formal letter, as attendees often submit notes or talking points that they used for public comment with their contact info included.