Wicomico Co. Board of Ed. Requires Registration for Public Comment at Sept. 13th Meeting

The Wicomico County Board of Education will hold its first meeting of the new school year Tuesday September 13th with new procedures in place that require pre-registration for public comments.

Up to 20 people will be able to make comments at Tuesday night’s meeting. Online registration to make a comment is open a week ahead of time. A form to make comments may also be filled out in person at the school system office on Northgate Drive until Monday.

If the 20 slots are not taken up with pre-registration, online registration can be completed at the meeting in the hour before the open portion begins.

Wicomico County Public Schools spelled out the protocols:

For the Sept. 13 Board meeting, the Board will convene at 6:30 p.m. and immediately vote to go
into closed session. The open portion of the meeting will begin at about 7 p.m. Masks are
optional. The agenda for this meeting will be available by the Friday before the meeting on
BoardDocs: https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/wcboe/Board.nsf/Public
In accordance with the newly revised Board of Education Public Comments Protocol Policy, pre-
registration for public comments is required. Public comments during the Board meeting will be
limited to 20 participants. To register for public comments, please visit the pre-registration
page (https://board_public_comments.wcboe.org/), which will be open starting one week prior
to this Board meeting (at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6) and will close one day (at 7 p.m. Monday,
Sept. 12) before the Board meeting.
Anyone unable to pre-register online may visit the school system office from Sept. 6-12 at 2424
Northgate Drive to fill out a paper copy of the pre-registration form. Anyone who pre-registers
will be contacted by email prior to the Board meeting. Anyone pre-registering to give public
comments after the first 20 people have already pre-registered may submit comments at any
time to comments@wcboe.org.
If all 20 speaking slots are not filled through pre-registration, people will be able to complete
the online registration in person at the meeting venue in the hour before the scheduled start
time of a Board meeting.
The public comment section of the agenda is an opportunity for the Superintendent and Board
to listen to individuals’ own comments on topics concerning Wicomico County Public Schools.
The Board chairman has the right to limit public comments in length or those concerning
personnel or student matters which clearly identify an individual or individuals, appeals or legal
matters that are before the Board, negotiations and topics that are more appropriately
addressed in closed session or privately with a staff member.

Only verbal comments are permitted during public comment session of a Board meeting. No
signs or posters may be displayed by the public during board meetings. Written, printed, audio,
or video material may be submitted via comments@wcboe.org.
Each speaker shall address all comments directly to the Board and speak only from the
designated location for public comments. For additional information, please refer to the Public
Comments Protocol Policy.
This meeting will be livestreamed on the Watch Board Meetings page of the school system’s
website (www.wcboe.org). Meetings are viewable after they have ended and may be accessed
in a variety of places, including BoardDocs, PAC 14, YouTube and the website of Wicomico
County Public Schools.