I’m often asked how members of the AEA community (staff, parents, other CA residents) can participate in AEA Board of Trustees meetings.  Under the Ralph M. Brown Act, a law which mandates open and public meetings for all public agencies, meeting agendas must be posted at least 72 hours prior to the meeting date/time and have a section dedicated to public comment.  At AEA our Board agendas are physically posted outside the front office of both campuses as well as online at www.aeacs.org (click Board Meetings–see sample page below).  In addition to accessing agendas online, anyone can stream Board meetings live online or view them live from the AEA campus where the meeting is not taking place (we alternate campuses each month).

The first Board meeting agenda item after the Board calls the meeting to order is always dedicated to comments from the public that are unrelated to specific agenda items for that meeting.  Additionally, members of the public may choose to speak to specific agenda items as they arise during the meeting.  Of course anyone can attend Board meetings as an observer without addressing the Board.

In order to address the Board during public comment you need only attend the meeting and sign up to speak.  If you choose to sign up in advance we have created a link to facilitate this online.  Your name will be called by the Board president and you will be allotted an amount of time to address the Board, with the amount of time varying according to the number of speakers and the discretion of the president.

When addressing the Board on non-agenda items it is important to remember that the Board cannot respond to your comments.  The reason for this is that under the Brown Act no discussion may take place by Board members unless it has been previously noticed according to the agenda specifications above.

The Board reserves the right to take action (or not) on issues that are raised in public comment.  Sometimes these matters are place on the agenda at future meetings, sometimes my staff and I are directed to address the situation and report back to the Board, and sometimes no action is taken.

Having attended hundreds of Board meetings in my career and having seen an equal amount of public commentary, I believe the most effective presentations are those focused on issues rather than people.  It is a public right to speak at open meetings (within certain limits of time and decorum) and it is also a great responsibility.