It’s sort of intriguing how the most conservative of communities, ones where the words “Freedom and Liberty” might be expected to be emblazoned on the uniforms of city employees, find certain freedoms to be inconvenient at times.

The Bentonville School Board, during their retreat on Saturday, discussed making some changes to their public comment policy that would have the folks in some cities – Fayetteville, for example – storming the ramparts.

Advertisement

According to Tony Prothro, assistant director of the Arkansas School Boards Association, “open mic” sessions, where members of the public can speak to issues they feel are important, can be a problem at times.

He also said the magic words that so many civic bodies have fallen in love with over the years, that public comments aren’t required, and if they did still choose to offer the service, well, there were ways to get around talking about difficult subjects.

Advertisement

According to this morning’s article in the Northwest Arkansas Times, Prothro went to say:

“Those wishing to speak could be asked to fill out a form before the meeting.”

Advertisement

That way, the listeners-that-be could decide whether or not a person was worthy of addressing them. Because they had read the form, you see, and decided what questions they did or did not want to deal with.

And, of course, the board could limit the member of the public who dared to speak in the first place to only speak about what was on their little form.

Advertisement

Prothro said that residents might want to address personnel matters. At this point one might have to ask, couldn’t someone on the board simply say, “We sorry, but we can’t discuss that.”

Travis Riggs, president of the Bentonville School Board said that they should, indeed, review their comment section. Riggs said that he himself is interested in having the public fill out such forms. He said that the forms would only be used to let the board know what the person is about to address.

Advertisement

No form deviates allowed.

“Requiring them to register beforehand is not taking away their right to speak.,” he added.

Advertisement

Kudos to board member Grant Lightle, who said that he had a problem with any attempt at content restriction.

Public comment sections have long proven to problematic for civic bodies. The Washington County Quorum Court, for example, moved their public comment section to the end of the meeting, rather than the beginning, some years ago. Some bodies simply don’t have them. No fuss, no muss.

Without public comments, elected bodies work in a bubble. The whole notion of having to have your comments “approved” by the body you wish to address is distasteful at the very least.

******
Quote of the Day

Advertisement

Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make for yourself. – Alice Walker

rsdrake@cox.net

Help to Keep Great Journalism Alive in Arkansas

Join the fight for truth and become a subscriber of the Arkansas Times. We've been battling powerful forces for 50 years through our tough, determined, and feisty journalism. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, our readers value great journalism. But we need your help to do even more. By subscribing and supporting our efforts, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers to expand our coverage. Together, we can continue to hold the powerful accountable and bring important stories to light. Subscribe now or donate for as little as $1 and be a part of the Arkansas Times community.

Previous article Reduce your carbon footprint with this SUV Next article Beebe goes big for highway tax