John Paff, who leads the open government arm of the state Libertarian Party, says the BOE is within its rights to place reasonable limits on public comment.

?Although it?s very clear what they?re trying to do, it?s not improper,? Paff said. ?What they?re really trying to do is suppress public comment.?

The requirement that speakers give 24-hour notice is troublesome, Paff said.

?It?s not really fair because a person who comes to a meeting, it might not occur to them (to comment) until he hears someone else speak,? he said. ?It really undermines the ability of the public to participate.?

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... ts_publ.html#incart_river

@MattSchapiro
I am neither one of the multiple choice options you describe. And many others aren't as well. I am against this school board policy enforced by one person without the consultation of other school board members, as Marilyn Roman stated.
(a) I have attended almost every school board meeting in several years
(b) I have NEVER been disruptive and never have spoken off topic for political agendas. These two options you presented shows a disconnect on the happenings of the meetings in its totality.
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1) School board meetings have only been chaotic during political or school board elections. And BOTH sides of political coins contribute to this showboating. When Dr. Epps was in office, many members of his circle said the same thing about Fulop's team. I was against the corruption and censorship during Dr. Epps reign. Video recordings became frequent when Fulop's team attended school board meetings and advocated for change. And I was grateful for that!! I too was for the change. However, to twist this argument and state that those against the current school board regime do not deserve the right to be videotaped is ludicrous.

Sometimes I don't want to hear what others have to say at school board meetings. But I still respect their rights as members of society.

This ban is a matter of public safety, public record and transparency.

2) After reading the policy again today, I noticed that it restricts the public from recording as well. If the school board approves of the public to record, even then you can't video record the audience EVER!!! See policy: http://www.jcboe.org/boe2013/images/p ... in/policy/9000/9322.2.pdf

Why does a member of the public have to notify the school board if they want to record? What is the justification on this? Do they want the option to say NO to a member of the public who they do not like?

3) To address the comments about showboating and negative comments discouraging public participation... There was less public participation under Dr. Epps. The spin using this reason is totally incorrect. I can attest to numerous parents approaching me thanking me for voicing their concerns on TV. One parent went as far as crying because she felt like no one was listening to her due to her lack of education. Using the excuse that too many speakers discuss nonsense is censorship and bias. What is important to one person may not be important to another person. Democracy.

4) Video and audio recording at same time is called the McGurk effect. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGurk_effect). Both together provide an impactful message to the brain. If video taping of audience while speaking hadn't been so important, then why ban it in the first place? It is obviously more important to the agenda of the school board than they lead to believe.

A possible reason for a ban on video recording can be so no one becomes a visual brand of parental representation except school board members. People identify with visual stimuli over audio stimuli

5) New York City Council require a feasibility study relating to the webcasting of public hearings and meetings.

http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/Legis ... 175D0CD616&Options&Search
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6) See my Revised Open Letter to Sangeeta Ranade:

This week only 2 days before the school board meeting, you decided behind closed doors to ban the video taping of public comments without the collaboration of the entire school board and without any public input. School Board Marilyn Roman publicly asked why weren?t the other board members consoled about this huge decision. You mentioned several folks told you they would be encouraged to speak publicly if there were no recording. And, further stated, perhaps that is the reason for low turnout at board meetings. So then what is the reason for the low turnout when previous Superintendent Dr. Epps restricted videotaping? And whom exactly did you poll influencing you on your decision behind closed doors?

We, the public, want the video taping service reinstated because it is a matter of public record, safety and transparency. Numerous parents feel alleviated and more confident in speaking when they see their same issues being raised on TV or Internet. The news media, Legislature, teachers? unions, safety advocacy groups, community leaders, residents and other parents need access to this type of public record, whether it be any of the following: parents voicing their concern over lack of communication and protocol regarding a PS38 child bringing a loaded gun to school, the Teachers Union?s President speaking about district wide issues, students speaking out about not being heard. Everyone can?t attend these meetings. To restrict the community?s access is the old way of thinking.

We would like alternate solutions to your totalitarian decision of banning the recordings, similar to the decisions made by School Board Presidents Sterling Waterman and Sue Mack. One suggestion is to allow each speaker the option to be recorded or not.

The Parent Advocacy Group would like to invite everyone to the next school board meeting on Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 6pm SHARP to talk about what this means to him or her. One must call no later than 24 hours prior to meeting, put his or her name down as a speaker by calling the Board Secretary: 201-915-6074. Also email the NJ Joint Committee of Public Schools to include Melanie Scholtz on your disapproval in Jersey City School Board President?s lack of transparency, safety disregard and banning of public record: mschulz@njleg.org. And lastly, we ask that people email, info@parentadvocacygroup.com or post their views on https://www.facebook.com/groups/parentadvocacy.

We will collaborate with others in advocating for the revision of the Sunshine Law, making it mandatory to record public meetings online, on community friendly media outlets and on email news blasts, not solely 2 newspapers.


January 17, 2014


Yours truly in service,
Akisia Grigsby
Founder, President
Parent Advocacy Group
akisia@parentadvocacygroup.com
twitter.com/ParentAdvocacyG
facebook.com/groups/parentadvocacy
201-589-0850
cell: 917-690-2358