SEARSPORT - Public comment took up a substantial portion of the Regional School Unit 20 board of directors meeting, Nov. 12. Or rather, the evening started with a lengthy internal debate about the district’s policy on accepting public comment.

The school board meeting was the first since Superintendent Brian Carpenter released a set of cost-saving consolidation proposals. The plans would close smaller schools and shuffle students within the district as a way to get ahead of the cuts to state aid and declining enrollment that have dogged the district for years.

The board is scheduled to talk about consolidation at a workshop on Nov. 19, and Carpenter has promised to hold public forums in the future. But a large turnout on Tuesday wouldn’t have been out of the ordinary.

As it was, the meeting drew around a dozen citizens.

Belmont board member Stephen Hopkins explained to those present the board’s policy on public participation, which requires that comments relate to items on the meeting agenda. Citizens with concerns about consolidation would get a chance to speak at the public forums, he said, adding that the board would be better acquainted with the proposals by then and could respond to comments. 

Alan Wood, one of five Belfast representatives, took issue with the policy, which he saw as overly restrictive. To the chagrin of some of his colleagues on the board, he made a motion to allow the public to discuss any educational issue during the public comment portion of meetings.

“What we’re doing is we’re curtailing the right of the public to attend public meetings and speak on educational concerns,” he said.

“He’s writing policy,” said Searsmont director Valerie Mank.

Wood was given the gavel by acting chairwoman Denise Dakin of Stockton Springs. But he pressed on, saying that he was prepared to walk into the audience and listen to anyone who wanted to speak.

He didn’t.

Dakin read the policy aloud, including a clause that permits public comment on non-agenda topics if requested in writing seven days in advance of the meeting and approved by the superintendent.

Stockton Springs board member Sharon Catus spoke to those in attendance.

“Contrary to belief, all of us are here for you,” she said.

“Everyone is feeling the weight of this ... It’s right there. It’s adding to the angst, the stress that is often compounded this time of year. I get it,” she said. “Where we are in the process though, it’s in the really early stages, and at this time you know truly as much as we do.”

Wood’s motion won the support of his fellow Belfast directors but was defeated. The vote followed immediately by a request from Belfast board member Stephanie Wade for “a brief update on where we stand in the reorganization process.”

Morrill board member Tony Swebilius asked if adding the item meant there could be public discussion on the topic. There could, he was told.

Wood spoke up again about the current policy.

“Let’s say people come to this meeting from Searsport and Stockton and they have no idea they cannot talk about any issue educationally,” he said. “So we’re going to tell them, ‘You need to travel to Belfast next month if you want to talk about something on consolidation.’ It also means you’ve got to look it up on the Internet and find out what the topics are.” 

Wade’s motion failed to get the required two-thirds majority. A second count of the votes was interrupted when Dakin noticed Northport resident Sandy Wallace talking to Wood. The gavel sounded again. Wallace said she had been looking at the Wood’s copy of the agenda to see when the public comment section would be.

A half-dozen short agenda items later it was time. There were two takers — Wallace and Belfast City Councilor Mike Hurley, both of whom struggled to fit their comments within the confines of the board rules.

Hurley said he hadn’t been familiar with the board’s policy on public comment and was accustomed to the open forums of Council meetings. He squinted at the agenda.

“Can I speak to a committee report?” he said. “Or what do I have to speak to?”

“Is it new business?” Dakin asked. 

Hurley said he was confused. He looked at the agenda again. “If I say I want to talk about the Policy Committee can I speak to that?”

“That would be under new business,” Dakin said.

Hurley fumbled a bit more, then suddenly appeared to perk up. “May I speak to the self evaluation process?” he said.

This was allowed.

Hurley mentioned the last meeting at which the board had discussed goals, including an annual self-evaluation. At the same meeting, the board voted against an amendment that would have allowed the public to speak. He contrasted this with Belfast’s policy for public comment, which he said has worked really well.

“When you tell people they can’t speak, then they’re angry,” he said. “If they can speak, you don’t have to say anything back, but you’ve at least listened to them.”

Hurley went on to talk about the seating arrangements of the board, the “ticking clock” of the school budget, taxes, and a realtor who claimed families are deciding not to move to Belfast because of RSU 20’s finances. These items, he said, should be part of the self evaluation.

Wallace also addressed her comments to the topic of self-evaluation. She asked the board members to consider — in the evaluation process — how they are acting in the interest of communities and children and taxpayers, both individually and as a board. 

She went on to challenge the accuracy of information distributed by the superintendent’s office, but was stopped by Dakin.

“No, this is part of the self-evaluation process,” she said, explaining that it was the board’s responsibility to make sure the information coming from the central office are accurate and clear.

“The clear presentation of information and the accurate presentation of information needs to be addressed in that evaluation process,” she said.

The RSU 20 board of directors is scheduled to begin deliberations on the consolidation proposals at a workshop on Nov. 19. The meeting is open to the public but there will not be a period for public participation at that meeting.

(Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article listed an incorrect date for the upcoming RSU 20 board workshop. The workshop is on Nov. 19)

Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com