By Angela Cimmino
Powhatan Resident

A scary thing happened at the joint Board of Supervisors/School Board meeting last Thursday, March 10. The BOS – elected public servants – silenced the public.

School Board representative Debbie Jones, with the support of her SB colleagues, requested that a public comment period be added to the agenda, as public comment is allowed at all public SB workshops and meetings. Anticipating this request, the BOS responded by having the county attorney read a prepared statement in ‘legalese’ explaining why a public “hearing” in the current venue would not be legal, given lack of prior notice, etc.

Mr. Tucker then claimed that to allow a public “hearing” at this venue would actually rob the public of its voice and disenfranchise those constituents who hadn’t been notified that they would have an opportunity to speak at the meeting. Clearly, what the SB requested was a public “comment” period, not a public hearing. I understood that, I’m pretty confident that the rest of the public at the meeting understood that, and I have to believe that our BOS understood that (although just in case they didn’t, the SB attorney very clearly clarified that point for the record). Yet, the Board of Supervisors chose to sidestep the request for public comment with what appeared to be legal subterfuge, i.e., intentional misinterpretation as a request for a public hearing to which they could respond in a negative.

They went so far as to threaten to adjourn the meeting and walk out if the SB insisted on allowing the public a voice instead of acquiescing to a ‘unified agenda’ without the public comment period.

Why so vigorous an attempt to silence the public? Surely, as public servants, the BOS appreciates the benefit to them of hearing what their constituents have to say before, not after, they make decisions on those constituents’ behalf? Then again, perhaps they do not. The BOS does not permit public comment at their workshops (which is where the bulk of the decision-making takes place), nor do they allow public comment until “after” the decision-making and voting take place at their monthly meetings.

The School Board seems to understand the concept and value of public input. As Mr. Gideons stated twice during the discussion, “We serve the people, they do not serve us.”

Part of that service entails listening and giving consideration to the public – in a public venue – whether or not you want to hear what they have to say.

My Point of View welcomes submissions that pertain to life and issues in Powhatan County. The views expressed in the column are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the editorial views of the staff of Powhatan Today.