TELE-TALK: Should public boards set a time limit for public comments?

Many parents have been attending local school board meetings to protest students having to wear masks due to the coronavirus. At the Aug. 12 SAU 9 Board meeting, 23 people got up to speak, and on Sept. 9, 16 people commented. As a result, meetings have run long. However, on Sept. 9, the SAU 9 Board voted 5-4 (with 20 of its 29 members absent) against adopting a policy recommended by the New Hampshire School Board’s Association that limits public comment periods to 15 minutes and for each comment to run no longer than 3 minutes. (The rules do allow boards to extend public comment periods if they see fit.) Meanwhile, at Conway Town Hall, selectmen adhere to Robert’s Rules of Order, which gives the chair discretion to cap public comments. In Jackson, school and town boards adopted a policy limiting public comment to 2 minutes per individual and to 15 minutes total per meeting. The Conway School Board, which has no comment policy, has seen its meetings run an hour longer than usual.

This week's Tele-Talk question: Should public boards set a time limit for public comments?