Holmes - incorrect about speaking board member name

Yesterday I emailed the following to all board members (and some others):

Good afternoon, members of the board and trustees-elect Holmes and McKie,

At each board meeting Teresa Holmes has been explaining Board Policy BEDH incorrectly. She has been admonishing speakers not to mention board members by name.

That is not how policy BEDH reads. Please ask her to explain and apply BEDH correctly.

BEDH reads, in part: "The board will not permit in public session any expression of personal complaints [emphasis added] about individual school personnel or any other person connected with the school system."

BEDH does not say that a speaker cannot mention a board member's name.

If Teresa continues to apply the Policy incorrectly, will you please call a Point-of-Order, stop the clock, rule, re-start the clock and allow the speaker the full amount of time remaining?

Trustee Manning replied about 3½ hours later. He wrote:

"Mr Philpott. Respectfully. You often misinterpret our policies to your benefit. No policy allows for clock resets. We value public input. But we also value respect from the public."

It's nice to know that the board cannot do or say anything that is not in Board Policy.

Is there a Board Policy that allows them to breathe during board meetings? Blow their noses? Of course, they can re-set the clock, if they want to. No Policy is needed for that.

If one board member calls a Point-of-Order and asks for the speaker's clock to be stopped during the discussion, will one of The Core Four call a Point-of-Order to discuss that? Who will hold Holmes' hand and lead her through that procedure?

Did Holmes learn anything during Friday's Winter Retreat? Will she no longer act as a dictator, tyrant, czar? What would happen if Holmes merely introduced Public Participation the way Craig Plank did several years ago, saying only "Speakers will have three minutes each. The Board does not respond to comments and may have a staff member follow up with a speaker."

Speakers don't need to be warned, threatened, told what they can't say. In four years I've never heard a speaker use "gossip, defamatory words, abusive or vulgar language.

When the public is respected, the board is likely to be respected.