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Tomball Independent School District

Public Comments

Due to the passage of House Bill 2840 during the 86th Legislative Session, Tomball ISD’s policy procedures for public comment at Board meetings have changed to meet the new requirements set out by law.  

At regular Board meetings, the Board shall permit public comments pertaining to district business, regardless of whether the topic is an item on the agenda posted with notice of the meeting.

At all other open Board meetings, in order to align with new laws, public comment shall be limited to items on the agenda posted with notice of the meeting.

In order to comply with legal requirements and accommodate all individuals who desire to comment on Board agenda items, the sign-up procedure has been revised as follows:

Members of the public who wish to sign up to comment on agenda or non-agenda items must sign up by 1:00 P.M. on the day of any open Board meeting that starts at 5:30 P.M. or must sign up at least four hours prior to any other open Board meeting. Each speaker will be allowed three minutes at the beginning of the meeting to comment on an agenda item unless more than five speakers sign up to comment at the same meeting.  If more than five speakers sign up for the same meeting, the Board reserves the right to:

    • Decrease the per-speaker time limit to address the Board
      • The Board can reduce the time to one minute
      • If more than 10 speakers are registered, the allotted time for each speaker will be reduced to one minute each
      • For speakers registered for multiple agenda items, one additional minute will be added to the allotted speaking time
    • Move comment on non-agenda topics to the end of the meeting
    • Take items in a different order than shown on the meeting notice
    • Proceed first with agenda items for which no speakers have registered to provide comment
    • Recommend that comments involving the performance of individual District employees or officers be made through the grievance policy
    • Require that comments involving personally identifiable student information be made through the grievance policy
    • Continue a meeting or an agenda item to another day in order to allow adequate time for public comment
    • Make other reasonable adjustments to the timing of public comment in accordance with law

The presiding officer will announce these adjustments in an open meeting.

If you have any questions regarding the district’s new public comment procedures, please contact Janice Tadlock, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent, at 281-357-3100, extension 2005.

In order to speak at the Board Meeting, this form must be submitted between the hours of 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM on the day of a posted board meeting at which you wish to speak. All other submissions will be voided.

Required

PUBLIC COMMENTS:  Any individual wishing to sign up to address the Board must register by completing this form in person or online at www.tomballisd.net between 8:00 A.M. and 1:00 P.M. (CST/CDT) on the day of the Board meeting. Additionally, all registered speakers must be in attendance at the meeting when the presiding officer or designee calls their name to speak and will not be allowed to speak at a later time if they arrive late.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS:  The Board of Trustees will hear public comments on agenda items at all open meetings in accordance with Texas Government Code Section 551.007.    Public comments on agenda items are limited to a maximum of three (3) minutes in length.  If, however, the total number of speakers seeking to address the Board at the meeting exceeds five, the per-speaker time limit may be reduced.  In no event will a speaker be given less than one minute to address the Board.  A speaker who wishes to address multiple agenda items may be given one minute as additional time to address the Board.
 
PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS:  A Tomball ISD employee, resident, student, student’s guardian, taxpayer, vendor or potential vendor shall have an opportunity to address the Board of Trustees on topics relevant to District business.  In accordance with the law, no deliberation, discussion, or decision will be made other than to consider a proposal to place the subject on the agenda for a subsequent meeting.  A written response/acknowledgement will be provided in some situations.  Public comments on non-agenda items are limited to a maximum of three (3) minutes in length and may be reduced at the discretion of the Board President in the interest of time and efficiency. Speakers will only be allowed to address one non-agenda item per Board meeting and all non-agenda items will be discussed at the end of the Regular Board Meeting unless the order is changed at the discretion of the Board president. Comments must not mention any employees by name or position or contain any personally identifiable reference.
 
MEETING PROTOCOL AND RULES OF DECORUM:  Compliance with the meeting protocol is expected and appreciated. A printable version of the Meeting Protocol is available. We encourage citizens to familiarize themselves with these protocols prior to offering public comment.
  1. The public comment period will not be used to air personal grievances, make political endorsements or for political campaign purposes, nor discuss matters which are the subject of public hearings.  Speakers shall address all comments to the Board as a whole and not to individual Trustees.  Discussions between speakers and members of the audience shall not be allowed.
  2. This time is for receipt of public comment, not debate.  The Board will not enter into a dialogue with citizens. Questions from the Board will be for clarification purposes only. Public comment will not be used as a time for problem solving or reacting to comments made but, rather, for hearing the citizens for informational purposes only.
  3. The Board may assign staff to provide information requested by a speaker during the public comment period.
  4. The Board may elect to defer public comment on specific issues that appear on the regular agenda until that specific item is addressed.
  5. Anger, rudeness, ridicule, obscene or profane language, impatience and lack of respect for others and personal attacks are not acceptable behavior. Demonstrations in support or opposition to a speaker or idea are not permitted. The Board president is responsible for maintaining order.  Failure to abide by this requirement may result in the forfeiture of the speaker’s right to speak.
  6. In the event that the Board president’s directions are not followed, our School Resource Officer present may be utilized to maintain order.
Our goal is to never have to engage our SRO and to be able to have a courteous and productive discourse in the service of our students and community.
 
Public Comments Sign-Up Form
Contact Informationrequired
First Name
Last Name
281-357-3100
Complete Physical Address
Purpose of CommentsrequiredPlease select up to 2 choices
Please select up to 2 choices
Please list the agenda items you will speak about.
Please list the non-agenda items you will speak about.
Please select all that apply to you:required
Required Termsrequired