Open Mikes at Open Meetings?

As occasionally happens at Iowa City Community School District School Board meetings, all hell broke loose last night. Gregg Hennigan, "I.C. Schooll Board Meeting Gets Heated; Proposed Public Comment Guidelines Draw Several Rebukes; No Vote Taken," The Gazette, Feb. 12, 2014, p. A11 ("Discussion got fiery last night as the Iowa City school board debated the first reading of new guidelines on public comment at meetings.").

In brief, the Board, which endeavors to govern through enunciated policies, struggled with how to handle public comments at its meetings and came up with proposed "guidelines" (set forth in full at the bottom of this blog essay). The guidelines got their "first reading" at last evening's meeting, whereupon the spontaneous public comments about the guidelines for public comments got a little raucous.

As dramatic as last evening's [Feb. 11] Board meeting apparently was, and as juicy as the news coverage it can provide may be, there are serious issues here that require a little context and reflection.

Here is a brief attempt to at least begin that process: "Open Mikes at Open Meetings? A Discussion About Discussion," http://fromdc2iowa.blogspot.com/2014/02/open-mikes-at-open-meetings.html .