Brian Hagberg
RUSSELL, Pa. – The Warren County School District has announced the “ground rules” for its upcoming public engagement sessions regarding potential reconfiguration within the district.
In a release on Tuesday, the district specified five ground rules for public comments during the meetings:
- Input will be limited to district residents and employees.
- Public comments will be limited to two (2) minutes; individuals are not permitted to “give their time” to another individual to speak on their behalf.
- You are encouraged to sign up ahead of time by emailing Ruth Huck at [email protected].
- Written comments are accepted and will be limited to 800 words. You are encouraged to submit written comments ahead of time by emailing Ruth Huck at [email protected].
- All public input must have names associated with it to verify residency.
The first of three public engagement sessions is scheduled for 6 p.m. on March 8 at the WCSD Central Office.
“The purpose of this meeting is to gather information from the public and to discuss and identify potential reconfiguration options,” the district said in the release. “Please consider attending to share your thoughts and ideas.”
Already, a group has formed, consisting primarily of Sheffield and Youngsville residents, to oppose any reconfiguration that results in students being moved from their current high school to another high school in the district.
That group held a town hall meeting on Sunday to share its goals (electing a majority to the school board) and long-term vision for the district (forming charter schools within each “outlying” attendance area).
“We’re in the middle of a battle to keep our schools open,” Nate Lindberg, one of the meeting’s organizers, said. “If you didn’t think the time (to fight) is now. It’s now.”
During a work session held in January, the district’s consultant for this process, Strategy Solutions, recommended that board members refrain from responding to individual speakers during the public engagement sessions.
“Typically, when we do public comment it is always one way,” Mangione said. “Would you suggest, in this kind of format, that we would actually be engaging the public and if somebody was making a claim that you (we) are trying to do this this this and this that we could refute them or put them back on track right then and there? Or how has this been done in the past? Is this not a good idea?”
Rodney Green from Strategy Solutions didn’t think engaging was a great idea, although correcting misinformation would be alright.
“I, think if at all possible, I would say it would be better to not have a dialogue,” Green said. “But never say never. If someone is truly putting something out there that is so outrageously not a fact, I think it is good to state that these are the facts. Maybe make a correction, but not necessarily have a dialogue.”
The district is operating under a timeline for this process that would have the final public engagement session on May 9, at which time the district is scheduled to present the implementation plan for the reconfiguration process.
