Center Grove schools plans to limit public comments during school board meetings to items the board is taking action on.
The change comes after several members of the public spoke about items not on the agenda at a recent school board meeting. Others who asked to speak beforehand felt they were being censored. Several people spoke out against a mask mandate at Center Grove schools during a board meeting Thursday night, despite the fact that the district doesn’t have a mandate, and parents of students who asked to speak in favor of one were told they would not be allowed to because the topic was not on the board’s agenda.
Members of the public who wish to speak during school board meetings have to specify what they plan to talk about on a piece of paper before the meeting starts. In this case, several said their comments were related to “other business” on the board’s agenda. The comments revolved around masks and Critical Race Theory, neither of which were topics on the agenda.
School board members felt the error was made out of confusion, not dishonesty, so they let those people speak, said Rich Arkanoff, superintendent of Center Grove schools.
“Of those people that listed ‘other business,’ we understand what they were thinking. Rather than getting into conflict, we let them address the board. Some others didn’t list any agenda item or listed ‘the pledge of allegiance,’ so he obviously didn’t allow them,” Arkanoff said.
School board members were caught off guard by parents speaking about masks during the meeting Thursday night, but let them speak because they had likely misunderstood the protocol, Arkanoff said.
“Russell didn’t want to not allow them to speak because of a misunderstanding of policy,” Arkanoff said. “The board is looking at the policy now, and the intent is for people to talk about action items, not every little thing on the agenda.”
Other community members who reached out to school administrators and board members to request to speak about masks during the meeting were told they could not. One of those parents was Erin Weber, who sent Arkanoff and school board members two requests to speak at the meeting, but was denied both times. She wanted to speak about the district’s mask policy, according to emails obtained by the Daily Journal.
Since the only comments made during the meeting were in favor of keeping masks optional, Weber felt she and other parents who wanted a mask mandate at Center Grove schools were being censored, Weber said.
“I felt the viewpoint of parents promoting what experts were recommending was being silenced,” Weber said. “Knowing we wouldn’t have a voice at the meeting, I didn’t feel it was worth the risk (of attending).”
During a virtual chat Wednesday, the day before the school board meeting, Arkanoff reiterated that public comment was reserved for agenda items only and was not an open forum to debate masks.
“What will we hear if we open the public meeting for 15 minutes and give the floor to half the group who are pro masks and antibody tests, and half against masks and antibody tests,” Arkanoff said. “Having people present like that does not help the board inform its decision. All they’re going to hear is two points of view.”
It would be better to leave that commentary to medical experts, he said during the chat.
Parents on both sides of the aisle will get the chance to speak about mask policies at 7 p.m. Thursday, during a special board meeting in the Center Grove High School cafeteria. During the meeting, board members will make the decision on whether they want to make any changes regarding COVID-19 protocols and mask policies, Arkanoff said.
Cases and quarantine numbers at Center Grove schools increased significantly last week. During the first seven days of school, there were 71 students quarantined, either due to a positive COVID-19 test, or as close contacts of someone who had COVID-19. Last week, there were 594 students out, according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Positive cases have also gone up. During the first seven days of school, there were 38 cases across Center Grove’s nine buildings. Last week, there were 103.
Parent Eric Luecking hopes there will be less confusion regarding school board policies in the future, he said.
“I’m just disappointed that the request was put in on time and in person was denied,” Luecking said. “I don’t want to have mixed messaging at this point. If you’re going to allow commentary, say you’ll allow commentary.”
