Proposed changes to Tulsa Public School board meetings stir controversy
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — A change to how Tulsa Public Schools board meetings go and when the public has a chance to voice concerns is causing controversy.
Right now, board members meet twice a month and take public comments at both meetings, but the proposed change would limit public comment to only the first meeting with the second meeting now reserved for monitoring the goals the board put in place.
Board member Dr. Jerry Griffin says he will vote no on the change because "it's a convoluted policy."
"The rules now are that every other, every meeting, which is twice a month, we take citizens comments, and people can comment on the agenda," said Dr. Griffin, pushing back against proposed changes to how the board will conduct meetings, including at which meetings public comment is allowed.
"It's a power play; it's to take away the rights of the people. It's to take away Democracy. It’s terrible what we’re doing," he said.
But in a statement to NewsChannel 8, School Board President Stacey Woolley told us in part:
In an effort to create more transparency around student outcomes, specifically, those outcomes established as goals and guardrails after 30+ community meetings last spring, the board will begin to monitor said goals each month in the second board meeting. The first meeting of the month will be a traditional business meeting while the second will be a monitoring session. In the rare event, there is the need to put an item on action during a monitoring session meeting, the public will be allowed to comment.
"But now, we can only speak when the items come up for action," said community activist Darryl Bright. He says the changes don't give board members time to contemplate public concerns.
"It's time to be more democratic and not try to streamline things to the point that it becomes one of effectiveness and efficiency but it doesn’t serve the purpose of enlightening the public or allowing the public to have a say in what they pay taxes for," he said.
Woolley says the changes would also include moving public comments to the beginning of meetings to make it more convenient. Despite this, the proposal will be getting at least one no vote.
"I will vote no on the whole policy because it's a convoluted policy," said Griffin.
Other critics say the new policy would stifle public input for the sake of efficiency, but Woolley says the change would actually give the public more time to talk with board member outside of the meetings.
Draft agendas will now be available 10 days before a meeting so people can access them ahead of time in order to reach out to board members.
Full statement from TPS Board President Stacey Woolley is below:
"In an effort to create more transparency around student outcomes, specifically those outcomes established as goals and guardrails after 30+ community meetings last spring, the board will begin to monitor said goals each month in the second board meeting. The first meeting of the month will be a traditional business meeting while the second will be a monitoring session. In the rare event, there is the need to put an item on action during a monitoring session meeting, the public will be allowed to comment.
Our board has been working over a year to become a Student Outcomes Focused Governing Board and part of that work means engagement with our goals on a regular basis. We have decided to work toward spending 50% of our time focused on what students know and are able to do because that is the reason for which schools exist.
In addition to changing how our meetings will flow and what they will look like, we have moved comments to agenda items to the top of meetings to be more convenient for the public and are also making draft agendas available to the public 10 days prior to meetings so that they can engage directly with board members prior to meetings and in such a way that would allow for direct replies."
