Educate Plano

Want to speak on the record to your elected Plano ISD Board of Trustees at a Board Meeting about a matter not on the agenda?

Call the babysitter and be prepared for a late night!

As has been previously reported, stakeholders have repeatedly addressed the Plano ISD Board about the abnormally late time at which they are finally allowed to give their public comments:

• You Snooze, You Lose
• Board Votes 7-0 to Give the Community the Bird (Again)

Unlike surrounding school districts, Plano ISD separates public comments that are on agenda items from those comments that are not, causing absurdly long wait times to be able to address the Board publicly and on the record.

Comparing the time that Plano ISD allows non-agenda comments to be heard at Board Meetings to the times permitted at surrounding ISDs, the results are staggering:

Many, many times speakers have had to go home by the time the Plano ISD School Board hears non-agenda public comments, forcing those speakers to forfeit their right to address the Board.

The timing of public comments is at the full discretion of the Plano School Board. The Plano ISD School Board has repeatedly been asked to move the time for all public comments to earlier in the meeting, in line with the surrounding ISDs. Yet, despite these inquiries and requests to move all public comment time to earlier in the meeting, not only has the Plano School Board refused to do that, they have not explained to the public why this very late timing is acceptable.