Brick School Board's Proposed Public Comment Limits Blasted

BRICK, NJ — A proposed policy to put time limits on public comment at Brick Township Board of Education meetings was assailed Thursday night by residents who said the policy would stifle public participation and speech.

The district policy, No. 1125 Public Participation in Board of Education Meetings, was given a first reading on Thursday. It would limit speakers to a 5-minute statement, and would set time limits on both opportunities for public participation outlined in the general agenda: public comment on agenda items only, and general public comment at the end of the meeting.

The comment period on agenda items would be limited to 45 minutes, while the comments at the end would be limited to 30 minutes, with both time limits able to be lifted if a majority of the board agrees.

Speakers also would be limited to one turn at the microphone during each public comment period.

The time limits, particularly on the general comment period at the end of the meeting, angered residents who are regular attendees at school board meetings.

"I don't understand why this is a priority right now," said Karyn Cusanelli, who served on the board for four years, winning election in 2012 to fill the unexpired term of Warren Wolf, then winning re-election in November 2013 to a full term. She served through 2016 before deciding to not seek re-election.

Cusanelli went on to question whether the policy was an attempt to quell potential public complaints that are likely to surface when the board presents the budget for the 2019-2020 school year.

Brick Township is seeing a $2.7 million cut in state aid for the 2019-2020 school year, and as part of the larger public battle over cuts affecting Brick and nearly 190 other school districts, has spelled out the potential consequences of those cuts over the six years. Job cuts, changes in sports offerings, program cuts — multiple issues are on the table, officials have said.

Cusanelli raised what she said are rumors that schools will be closed, sports will become pay to play or busing will be privatized.

Closing schools or charging for sports participation are not under consideration for the 2019-2020 school year, Superintendent Gerald Dalton said.

"They are not happening this year," Dalton said. "We would have a committee" to discuss changes or potential school closures before anything was done, he added.

There has been no discussion at all of privatizing busing, Board President Stephanie Wohlrab said after the meeting.

Wohlrab said the proposed public participation policy was modeled on ones that exist in a number of other districts. The Toms River Regional Board of Education breaks public comment into an agenda portion and general comments, as do the Jackson, Central Regional, Southern Regional and Freehold Township school districts. Lacey Township has two public comment sections, one at the start of the meeting, immediately after the flag salute and one immediately before agenda items. The Freehold Regional High School District has one public comment period, limited to a total of 40 minutes. Toms River limits public comment on agenda items to 3 minutes per speaker, and general comments to 5 minutes per speaker.

Time limits on commenters are common at municipal government meetings throughout the area.

Cusanelli urged the board to rethink the time limits.

"You've made this recent change," she said, referring to public comment being broken into two segments. "Why are you putting further regulation and restriction on comment?" Cusanelli noted the 30-minute limit on the general portion would limit it to just six speakers at 5 minutes each.

"I didn't look at it the way you presented it," Wohlrab said to Cusanelli, referring to what is certain to be serious concerns over potential budget cuts. Wohlrab said the board would give the concerns more thought and discussion.

Victor Fanelli, who has been a frequent attendee and oft-critic of the district, was more blunt.

"Other people tried to do this. I brought up on ethics charges," he said. "They've always gone back to the way it was," even when a clock was used to limit speakers to 5 minutes.

"You volunteered for these jobs," Fanelli said. "If you have to make hard decisions, do what you have to do and move on. But you can't shut people out."

Maintaining meeting decorum is a problem for public officials at every level of government when the public is upset. The Toms River Township Board of Adjustment meeting in late December 2016 was repeatedly disrupted by people calling out in anger over testimony on the Chabad Jewish Center application.

And it's been an issue in Brick school board meetings going back years. The Board of Education meeting in May 2015 on the heels of the arrest of then-Superintendent Walter Uszenski was extremely turbulent because it appeared dozens of bus drivers were going to be cut, and there was an implication then that the district was looking to privatize buses. That meeting in particular lasted well into the night and was repeatedly interrupted by angry comments from the audience.

The American Civil Liberties Union, in a booklet on New Jersey's Open Public Meetings Act, notes that while school boards (and municipal governing bodies) are required to have public comment, they can set time limits and even require that people sign up in advance. The Brick Township Council did that on Tuesday for the hearing on the ordinance banning recreational marijuana sales, in order to make the meeting more orderly and accommodate all who wanted to speak.

"When addressing the public body, the public body is not required to respond to your questions," the booklet notes. "The public body cannot censor your speech during a public comment portion because it does not agree with you or like what you are saying. The public body also cannot prohibit comments based on subject matter so long as the comments relate to any issue 'that a member of the public feels may be of concern to the residents of the municipality or school district.'"

Note: This article has been updated to correct the dates that Karyn Cusanelli served on the Brick Township Board of Education. Patch regrets the error.

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