Report Inappropriate Comments

RE: Open Meetings law and public comment. Put bluntly, the excuses given for why School Committee members can't respond during Public Comment is hogwash (same for City Council for that matter). From the RI Attorney General's website, the document "Guide to Open Government" located at: http://www.riag.ri.gov/documents/opengov/guidetoopengovernmentbookletfullpagetext.pdf

THE OPEN FORUM: WHAT ABOUT “PUBLIC COMMENT”?

The Open Meetings Act recognizes an optional Open Forum portion of a meeting, which is defined as "the designated portion of an open meeting, if any, on a properly posted notice reserved for citizens to address comments to a public body relating to matters affecting the public business." R.R. Gen. Laws 42-46-2(f).

* An or all of the members of a public body (school committees included) may respond to comments intitiated by a member of the public during the open forum portion of a meeting even if the matter was not previously posted on the agenda, for informational purposes only. R.I. Gen. Laws 42-46-6(d).

* School Committees-Exception: A school committee may add items to the agenda, for informational purposes only, when a member of the public submits a written request during the public comment/open forum session of the meeting. R.I. Gen. Laws 42-46-6(b)

From: Consolidation suggestions take schools nowhere

Please explain the inappropriate content below.