S. Range, Mill Creek need to relax public input policies

Perception is reality in politics, so when two government entities that have been harshly criticized by taxpayers take actions that are perceived as anti-public participation, the reality of a gag order rears its ugly head.

Thus, Mill Creek MetroParks and the South Range Local School District have triggered controversy when there was no reason for such.

Here are the two recent headlines that appeared in The Vindicator, a leading voice in the Mahoning Valley and the state of Ohio, for open, accessible government: “South Range Schools – Board to enforce bylaws for public comment”; and, “Mill Creek MetroParks – Officials address policy restricting public comment.”

The adoption of the policies by the South Range school board and Mill Creek board of directors is ironic, given that both entities have a major public relations problem.

Here’s what we said in an editorial May 9 about South Range in the wake of the May 5 primary: “Rejection of the 4.9-mill additional operating levy for South Range schools in Tuesday’s primary election makes clear that the board of education and Superintendent Dennis Dunham have some major fence-mending to perform if they are to win over an obviously distrustful electorate.”

So, what was one of the first acts of the board and superintendent to mend the broken fence? They decided to require members of the public to give a 10-day notice in order to address the board at its meetings. School district officials insist that this is not a change in policy but merely an enforcement of the existing bylaws as they pertain to public comments at board sessions.

“We are not discontinuing the public participation portion of the meeting,” said Ralph Wince, president of the board of education. “Anything that’s on the agenda for that night can be questioned and asked about. Anything [else] is still allowed to be asked about. It just needs to be signed up 10 days prior.”

But as The Vindicator story pointed out, the meeting agenda is not available to the public 10 days in advance, which means members of the public must sign up in advance to have any chance of addressing the board. And even then, the board president and the superintendent have approval authority for the request to speak.

MILL CREEK’S POLICY

At Mill Creek MetroParks, the new policy restricts public comment at board meetings to current agenda items. Ironically, MetroParks Executive Director Aaron Young said the policy was adopted after the board was criticized for not doing a good job for taking residents’ concerns into consideration.

The reaction to The Vindicator story that detailed the new policy should have made it clear to Young and the board of directors that they misread the mood of the taxpayers and have simply inflamed the passions of many residents angry about the euthanization of 238 geese last summer — without input from the public.

Indeed, some members of a wildlife group formed in response to the killing of the geese have said the public-comment policy will affect their vote on the levy. The MetroParks board has decided to place a levy renewal with additional millage on the November general election ballot.

In politics, perception is reality, and the reality now for many residents in the South Range School District and residents of Mahoning County is that their rights to participate in their government are being undermined.

When the public believes their voices are being silenced, they fight back with the most powerful weapon in a democracy, their vote.

Board members in South Range schools and Mill Creek Park cannot be blind to the risk of voter backlash, which is why we would urge them to reconsider their policy decision pertaining to public participation in their meetings.

The Vindicator story on South Range detailed how other public entities handle public comments. Looking over the policies in the Youngstown, Poland, Boardman and Austintown school districts, and the position of Progress Ohio, a charitable, political and community organization in Columbus dedicated to issue advocacy in Ohio, we strongly advise loosening the reins.

Austintown offers the best policy: The school district makes time for two public comment sessions. The first is specific to items on the agenda before action on the items is taken; the second is at the end of the meeting during which members of the public can speak on topics of their choice. The only requirement for participation in either or both sessions is filling out a sign-up sheet.

Now that’s participatory democracy.