Public Participation - 5/14/19

At approximately 7:15PM the meeting reached the first Public Participation segment. Two speakers were signed up.

I had prepared three different themes for last night's meeting. I had all three typed up and ready to go. Before I arrived, though, I decided that I would sit out this meeting. In other words, I would not speak. It turned out to be the right choice.

At (34:44 (on the YouTube video)) Trustee Agostini indicated she wished to speak, but McKie cut off her. Then McKie launched into a long diatribe about the Board Policy (and how the public was to behave in her presence). It was difficult to hear her entire statement, because she doesn't speak into the microphone so that her voice would be amplified in the meeting room. Wait for the YouTube recording; you can hear her statement.

Be sure to sit up straight, when you hear her admonitions. Don't dare reach for the chips or popcorn. And don't even think about speaking to anyone or answering the phone, while she lectures the audience. I did hear the words "personal gain and insult". I can't wait to hear the whole speech. I remembered thinking, "Well, what can a person speak about???"

Only then was Mrs.Agostini given permission to add her comments about the public participation segment.

The first speaker began his allotted three minutes and used it well. Although I was sitting two chairs away from him, it was difficult to hear everything he said, because the microphone on the podium only amplifies within the room if a speaker stands with his mouth close to the microphone and speaks directly into it. You can hear his remarks on the YouTube video. I did hear the part where he lambasted the board for a lack of transparency.

The second speaker apparently decided not to speak. Perhaps that person was cowering in his or her seat after hearing McKie's remarks.

After the first speaker sat down, I looked over at him frequently during the rest of the meeting. If he had left early, I intended to slip out to introduce myself and thank him for his remarks.

As it happened, he stuck it out to the end of the meeting, about 10:30PM. As soon as the meeting adjourned, I stepped over to thank him in person.