TUSD board to vote on no longer allowing written Call to Audience comments

People seeking to submit comments at Tucson Unified School District Governing Board meetings won’t have a write-in option, should a policy change be approved Tuesday.

The TUSD board will vote on whether guidelines for addressing the board will change, allowing only in-person public comment or calls into a hotline.

The change was discussed during a board meeting in October. Board member Sadie Shaw said then that written comments should continue to be an option. She said there are many reasons an individual would not be able to make it to a meeting, whether they be immunocompromised, live far from where meetings are conducted or are otherwise prevented from attending in person.

Board President Ravi Shah said people have the option to email the board with concerns prior to meetings.

Shaw said it’s important for the public to know “what is happening around the district” from the perspective of others.

Sometimes comments are not read into the record, board member Jennifer Eckstrom pointed out.

“Most of the time we forgo the (written) comments. Here we are telling people we’re going to have these comments read for the record and most of the time they are not,” Eckstrom said. ”I don’t see why we should continue this.”

A motion was made by board member Val Romero, and seconded by Shaw, to add a hotline option to the proposed policy changes. The motion passed, with Eckstrom and Shah voting against the amendment.

“I think it takes an effort to come here and have your opinion heard by the entire community,” Shah said.

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Occasionally public comment is submitted in Spanish. According to the district: “Tucson Unified provides translator services; a Spanish translator is always present at every board meeting. If the comment to the board will be virtual or comes via letter or email, the TUSD translation services department will be able to facilitate. For any language other than Spanish, whether in person, virtual, letter or email, a request is required at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.”

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 12.6% of TUSD parents of enrolled children speak English “less than well.” That number includes languages besides Spanish.

Members of the public submitted opinions to the board about the proposed policy changes. Michael Boreale, a representative of Educational Leaders Inc., said having a hotline option could be difficult to monitor and would make it easier to offer anonymous complaints against school administrators.

Educational Leaders Inc. is an association representing school administrators, including principals, assistant principals, school psychologists and research project managers.

“TUSD should discourage staff from using call to the audience to address job dissatisfaction, but the hotline will likely make this practice easier and more common,” Boreale wrote.

Boreale urged the board to take out the approved hotline option and require in-person comments at calls to the audience.

Elyse Damiani submitted a comment that she is in favor of keeping the write-in option. Damiani said, “It was a positive change, regardless of the pandemic, to allow individuals to express concerns without having to be present as their schedule might not allow. It also helps to keep a neutral tone in the reader’s voice in case of heightened emotions or nerves on the part of the commenter.”

Dan Ireland said the policy’s language should be left alone. “Persons who might otherwise be unable to attend in-person, are still afforded a voice. I am always in favor (of) widening people’s access to express their options, not limiting.”