School board president defends changes in public comment rule

Brick Township Board of Education President Daniel J. Woska said the new public comment rules should make it easier for residents to get the information they want.

"It's to the public's advantage," he said recently. "Now they get the full time to ask or comment on what they want."

But no one from the public spoke in favor on the new rule at the Sept. 24 Board of Education meeting. Residents are now given three minutes instead of the previous five to ask questions or comment. They are allowed two trips apiece to the microphone during the public comment portion of the meeting. Resident Nick Cusanelli and a number of other residents questioned the rule change.

Cusanelli asked if the change had been voted on during a public meeting.

"I'm a little bit insulted by the way it's being done," he told the board. "Anybody on the board watching BTV to see how it looks from a vantage point?"

The format change is "obviously not constructive," resident Richard Kight said.

"What people are looking for is a dialogue."

So one by one, residents went to the microphone, voiced their concerns or asked a question, signed their name on a sheet, then sat down.

"We'll answer everything at the end," Woska said.

After all the residents were done, Woska and board members shuffled through their notes and began answering some of the questions.

"If you noticed, there were numerous duplicate questions we would just be continually answering," Woska said the day after the meeting. "I think we were able to commit the whole comment time to giving more detailed answers than before."

The decision to change the public comment rules was a board decision, made at a board retreat earlier this month, Woska said.

"We discussed how we thought we could make the public comment flow a little better," he said.

The policy states: "Public Comment shall be limited to 3 minutes in length, and shall be limited to two visits to the podium per person. Your name and address shall be stated for the record and written on the log at the podium. Comments are welcome by the Brick Township Board of Education to help promote a higher quality of education for our students. Questions may be posed; however, answers will be provided either during BOE Comment or provided directly to the individual at a later date if research is required. In such cases a phone number will be left with the Board Secretary."

"This makes it much more confusing," resident Dorothy Mickel said. "This is kind of silly, actually."

"This format as far as I'm concerned isn't conducive to the public," former board member Sharon Kight said.