DGreport.com

EJ has the skinny on the meeting.  I was mainly there to record the meeting (more on that later)-being 6’4″ makes me useful.  Here’s some of my additional thoughts on the juvenile spectacle that the D99 school board meeting turned into Monday night:

1) When a board member is recognized to speak, will the rest of the board let them speak until they are either done, or the President ends their time allotment?  At one point, the board shouted down Boyle when she made an incorrect statement.  It is not the board’s place to interrupt a speaker who has been recognized and has the floor.  They can in turn be recognized by the President and have their say.  The President should allow those who wish to speak on any motion their chance to do so, uninterrupted by other board members.

2) When opening the floor for public comments and advising the speakers they have three minutes, once again they should be allowed to speak.  It is not the responsibility of the board to engage in Q and A with the public during this time, although the President might respond, and also allow other board members time to respond after the public comment period is over, but in general let the public have their comment and move on.  And again it’s not the boards place to interrupt public commenters, but it is the President’s prerogative to interact and respond individually.

3) You can’t simply end a regular meeting without a motion, second, and vote to adjourn, and before even one public speaker has had their time.  At least two board members had no knowledge of participating in any vote to end the meeting.

4) Shouting is a poor way to communicate.

5) When the meeting was stopped, more than two board members continued discussing district business as listed on the agenda.  This was clearly a violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

6) Elected public officials should refrain from engaging in verbally abusive arguments with residents, especially in front of someone who is going to write about it in a blog.   In particular in front of two bloggers and two reporters who are going to write about it in blogs and in the print papers.

7) The president needs to keep order.  I’ll cut Beckman some slack on this point; it was bedlam all around her and she was clearly blindsided by the chaos.

8 ) This was easily the most entertaining meeting by a public taxing body I have attended.  Impressed no.  Entertained, heck yeah.

9) I was asked not to put the video up.  Both Distict 99 policy and state law says I have the right to tape open meetings.  I asked Dr. McDonald and SB President Beckman to think that over and get back to me.  Stay tuned…

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