Covering Board of Education meetings

August 16, 2005

Schedules
The school board meets on a regular basis in its second floor meeting room at the Administration Building, 3600 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh. Meeting announcements and agendas are mailed to the press in accordance with NC's Open Meetings law. You may also check the website at www.wcpss.net/Board/ for meeting announcements and agendas. Board meetings are telecast via Community Television, either live or video-taped. Please check with your cable provider for schedules.

Structure & Format
Agenda items for the school board will be classified according to three categories:

Consent: items of routine business, which may be grouped together for a single vote.
Action: issues that are of great community interest and are dealt with one-by-one.
Information: issues that require no action but are presented to the school board to keep members and the community abreast of program performance and trends.

The school board is divided into several subcommittees, which meet regularly to discuss issues. Committee meetings are also open to the public, and press coverage is encouraged.

Public Hearings
The board welcomes public input. In fact, there are two public hearings at every formal school board meeting. The first public hearing is held early in the meeting, and the time is set aside for citizens to address items that are on the evening's agenda. The second public hearing is near the end of the meeting, and it is designated for comment on issues that are not on the agenda. Speakers are asked to limit their comments to three minutes, and they should sign up to speak prior to the opening of the meeting.

Special Public Hearings
The school board is required to hold public hearings for parents whose children are recommended for a move to another school. These special hearings are usually held separately from the formal school board meetings. Families affected by the student assignment proposal are invited to speak. Members of the press are also notified.

Technical Notes
The press table is to the left of the board meeting room as you enter from the rear doors. This area is close to the 'mult-box' where you may plug in tape decks or camera units for a clean audio feed.

Additionally, if you require a power outlet, you may access an outlet close to the press table. If no outlet is available, notify a staff member and we will provide an extension cord.

There is one phone jack near the press area. Most phone jacks in the building are digital and cannot be used for dial-up Internet access. If you require an analog phone line, please notify a staff member.

Note: So that there will be minimal disruption during the course of a school board meeting, please leave cell phones behind or set them to silent operation while you are in the board's meeting room.

Please contact a staff member if you need to use a phone. Office telephones at 3600 Wake Forest Road are considered private and should not be used without permission from the office tenant. Thanks for your consideration.

-wcpss-