The board welcomes public participation during its regular business meetings designated on the agenda as Public Comment. The public wishing to speak to the Board of Education will be allowed this period of time to do so under the following guidelines:

* Speakers will be limited to a maximum of three minutes and the entire open forum to a maximum of 30 minutes (which may be waived by a majority vote of the board).

* Speakers are requested to stand, state their name, address and topic of discussion. A sign-in sheet will be circulated prior to the start of the meeting to expedite this segment of the meeting.

* Speakers will not be allowed to personally attack any board member, administrator, employee, community member or any of the public present. Also, no comments by the speakers will be permitted that deal with executive session subjects, e.g., individual personnel matters or discipline issues pertaining to specific individuals including students.

* The board will respond to questions or refer them to an administrator who can answer appropriately. If a question cannot be answered during the board meeting, it will be researched and followed up by an administrator.

In addition, there are other ways to make your opinions known to board members and district personnel. The school board welcomes you communicating by mail on any issue of concern. Correspondence may be addressed to the Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton CSD, Board of Education, 693 State Highway 51, Gilbertsville, NY 13776.

In the event of a specific concern related to a particular grade level or program, residents are encouraged to contact the appropriate district personnel and follow the chain of command.

A Board of Education meeting is a meeting in public rather than a public meeting. Consequently, all discussions and debates regarding agenda Items are restricted to the members of the board and the superintendent. Opportunity for public input is available during the Public Comment section of the agenda.