With so many changes occurring from Tennessee’s commitment to the Race to the Top initiative, journalists and parents are taking an interest in the local board’s policy votes. Under the Tennessee Open Meetings Law (often called the Sunshine Law), any citizen may attend Cumberland County’s board of education meetings.
Heather Mullinix, assistant editor at The Crossville Chronicle, said, “In Tennessee, any legislative group must publish its meetings and not have any secret votes. The business of the public will be conducted in the public.”
The board holds its meetings on the fourth Thursday at 6 p.m., in the central services office at 368 Fourth St., in Crossville. The group also publishes its agendas online.
Journalists
Mullinix, who covers most of the education news in Cumberland County, attends the meetings regularly. She said that the CCBOE does allow the media to ask questions after all business has been concluded. “They offer it as a courtesy,” she said, “because they don’t technically have to provide time for questions. I use it to clarify things that happened during the meeting.”
Since the meetings are public, independent journalists (which includes bloggers) may also attend the board meetings. Mullinix recommends that journalists introduce themselves to the board members before meetings to explain why they are present. “Some bloggers try to write behind shadowy names,” she said. “I don’t think that is right. You have to build credibility and trust in order to get the information you need.”
Mullinix also said, “And get it right. If you don’t understand what’s going on, ask.” She added that some votes can be confusing and that journalists must ask questions to clarify details rather than publish what they think was said.
Parents and Other Individuals
Although not required by law, the CCBOE allows the public to address issues just after the call to order under the agenda item called “Welcome to Visitors.”
If a parent or another individual wants to speak before the board, he or she must submit a request in writing to central services eight days prior to a scheduled meeting. If the executive committee adds the issue to the agenda, the individual may address the group for three minutes.
“The board will not respond to your comments,” said Mullinix, “but they will keep them in mind when making decisions that are related.”
Public Accountability
On July 18, Eddie Bruce Overholt of Bybee, Tenn., was removed and arrested by law enforcement officers from a public meeting of the Greene County Industrial Development Board when he asked “that the board members speak more loudly at the meeting.” County Mayor Alan Broyles considered Overholt’s request to be “an ‘outburst.” Overholt will attend a hearing on Sept. 22, to address his charges of “interfering with a public hearing and resisting arrest.”
Video: “76 Year Old Veteran Arrested for Asking Public Official to Speak Louder”
The Greenville Sun (Tenn.) reported that the Industrial Development Board held the meeting around a conference table with no microphones. Several board members were facing away from the audience, and a rope barricade also separated the audience from the closest board members by a few feet.
In an editorial posted on Aug. 18, in response to Overholt’s case, Deborah Fisher, the executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, said, “The Tennessee Open Meetings Act is more than just a law to be followed. It is the essence of how we believe government should work in a representative democracy.”
Fisher also wrote, “While the Tennessee Open Meetings Act’s wording doesn’t directly lay out the right of citizens to hear the deliberations in a public meeting that they attend, it would be hard to find someone who would argue that having a public meeting where the governing body could not be heard makes too much sense.”