School board members encourage public participation. Your civil input is appreciated. If you would like to interact with the school board, you may do so in the following ways:
Email/Phone
Find contact information for each Director, email address and telephone number, or you can send them all an email at once. Please allow at least two (2) business days for a response.
Public Comment Options - Regular Business Meetings
The Board accepts verbal or written public comment at regular business meetings as provided in Policy 1430, Public Comment. Regular business meetings are public, broadcast and recorded. Instead of providing public comment, you may also email the Board at board@tacoma.k12.wa.us (see above).
If a person wants to provide verbal comment and has difficulty attending a business meeting by reason of disability, limited mobility, or for any other reason that makes physical attendance at a meeting difficult, they may contact the board assistant's office at least three (3) days before the meeting so that feasible accommodations may be offered.
Option 1: Verbal Comment:
For verbal comment, submit a "Citizens' Request to Speak" card before the meeting start.
- The General Counsel will call your name when it is your turn to address the Board. Speakers may be grouped based upon the subject matter. When addressing the Board, please state your name at the podium.
- You will have up to three (3) minutes to share your verbal comment.
- If there are more than ten (10) requests for verbal comment, the Board President has discretion to restrict the time or number of speakers based upon the agenda.
- Additional time may be granted for accommodation (e.g., disability, language).
Option 2: Written Comment:
Alternatively, you may provide written comment, which will be added to a regular business meeting agenda:
- Prepare a written statement that will be attached to the board agenda and meeting minutes. Send an email with the subject line "For Public Comment" to board@tacoma.k12.wa.us at least 24 hours before the start of the meeting. Statements submitted after the deadline will not be considered at this session.
- Because this will be a public document, we recommend you prepare the statement in a separate document using an application such as Microsoft Word. At the top of the document, please identify yourself and the subject matter (a title). Do not include your phone number, address or email address unless you want that personal identifying information included in the public record.
- Typically, the board allows up to three (3) minutes for you to share verbal comments. A three (3) minute verbal statement converts to approximately 300-500 words or up to 2 pages double spaced. Please limit your written statement to this guideline.
- During the meeting, the General Counsel will read your name and the subject matter (title) of your statement into the record. They will not read your statement aloud during the meeting. Your statement will, however, be linked to the agenda so that members of the public may read it. It will also be linked to the meeting minutes for future reference.
- Members of the board will review your written statement.
Public Comment Guidelines
Public comment should relate to items of public interest within the Board's jurisdiction. The Board will not respond directly to public comment, and this is not meant to be a debating period. The Board or District staff may respond if needed to correct misinformation. If an issue requires a response, the Board may delegate the response to District staff.
Public comment should be civil and respectful. The Board will not terminate comment based upon viewpoint. However, to maintain a respectful and efficient meeting, the Board President may interrupt or terminate verbal comment and/or redact written comment if:
- The speech becomes irrelevant;
- The speech is repetitious;
- The speech is unlawful (e.g., hate speech, obscenity or defamation);
- The speaker exceeds the allotted time; or
- The speech or number of speakers prevent the Board from conducting the meeting in an orderly manner.
If you have a complaint about an employee or board member, please follow District policy by first raising the issue with the employee's supervisor. If that doesn't resolve the issue, then please bring the complaint to the Superintendent. The Board doesn't hear complaints about employees or board members in regular business meetings. The Board hears appeals from conclusion of investigations from plaints in executive session.
Tacoma Public Schools is committed to an environment where people feel safe, welcomed, and respected. The Board respects our citizens' right to freedom of speech while balancing the Board's responsibilities.
