Fighting to be heard, parent against school board policy
This from
WKYT:
There are 174 school districts in Kentucky. Each district can set
their own procedures for how their school board meeting runs. Bobby
Stinnett has children in the Montgomery County school system. Lately,
he's been showing up to the monthly school board meetings. In order to
speak, you are asked to sign a procedure. The procedure states, in
part, that speakers will not be allowed to make any disparaging or
critical remarks about individuals or employees of the district.
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Josh Powell |
"It restricts the speech. Praise us all you want, but you can not be critical," Stinnett said.
A check with the Kentucky School Board
Association shows twelve other districts in the state have similar
procedures and policies. "To me it's common sense. You can't grant
someone the authority to speak and then tell them they are not allowed
to be critical," Stinnett said.
Stinnett took his concerns to the September
school board meeting. He said the procedure's wording is a violation of
his right to free speech.
WKYT sat down with Superintendent Josh Powell
this week. "They've always been able to say whatever they want to say,"
he explained about speakers at board meetings. Powell said the
procedure is never actually enforced during board meetings. Even though
a person signs a piece of paper agreeing to it in order to speak.
Powell said, "Our school board has never followed
this policy." But he said he keeps it in place as a backup. And
recently that backup, he said, has been needed.
"We welcome criticism, we'd had it forever. We
don't prevent that in any way. But when you harass someone, it's a
different story," Powell said. He said the criticism at meetings has
spiraled out of control, into harrassment. Much following a state audit
claiming some questionable spending in the district.
"Some people have gone up there and made
accusations and stuff like that," Stinnett agreed. Superintendent
Powell said Stinnett has not made accusations, but said he has been
critical--especially of a procedure Powell said is never used, and
Stinnett says shouldn't be in writing in the first place.
Stinnett is currently running for city council in Mt. Sterling.
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