Board of Directors

The Governing Board welcomes public participation and values input from members of the community.  To encourage and facilitate parent and community involvement in the school, each regular meeting offers an opportunity for members of the audience to address the Board of Directors.

To ensure the meeting is conducted in an orderly and efficient manner, speakers are asked to observe the following procedures:

• Individuals wishing to address the Board should sign-in and complete a Public Comment Card before the public comment portion of the meeting begins.
• The Board Chair (or designee) will call on each speaker who has submitted a Public Comment Card, first calling on those addressing an item included in the current agenda, followed by those addressing topics not on the current agenda.

• Each speaker is limited to three (3) minutes, unless otherwise authorized by the Chair.
• A timer may be used to assist speakers in observing the time limit.
• The Chair may, at his or her discretion, extend or reduce the allotted speaking time as necessary to ensure the orderly conduct of the meeting and to provide a fair opportunity for all speakers to be heard.

• When called upon, please begin by stating your name and, if applicable, your city of residence or affiliation with the school.
• Comments should be directed to the Board as a whole, not to individual Board members or audience members.
• If more than three individuals have organized to speak on the same topic, please designate a spokesperson who can summarize the issue.

• Board members will not engage in dialogue, answer questions, or debate issues during public comment.
• When appropriate, questions may be referred to the appropriate Headmaster for follow-up, or the matter may be placed on a future agenda.

5. Appropriate Conduct

• Speakers are expected to conduct themselves respectfully and refrain from disruptive behavior, profanity, or personal attacks. Interactions are expected to be courteous, professional and civil
• Comments should address matters within the jurisdiction of the Governing Board.
• The Chair may rule a speaker out of order if the speaker becomes disruptive or fails to comply with these procedures.

• Speakers may not address criticism toward an individual school employee. Florida Open Meeting law prohibits the Board from discussing concerns about individual employees or students in a public meeting. Concerns regarding specific employees or students should be addressed through established administrative procedures rather than during public comment.
• The Board will not discuss or respond to comments regarding confidential personnel or student matters.

• To protect student privacy and comply with applicable law, speakers should avoid disclosing personally identifiable information about students.