Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for April 17, 2006 PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF DISAFFECTION

This looks like an idea whose time has come...for the Cairo City Council Meetings!

Of course, for this to work...first the Mayor would have to resume paying the "boycotting" members, the Council would have to pass the measure...applicable to themselves AND the Mayor, and ALL would have to agree on who would be "Civility Chair"...able to impose/collect fines. Looking at it that way...fuggitaboutit!

From the Detroit Free Press...

In Detroit, trustees vote to OK fine up to $180 for rudeness at meetings

BY CHASTITY PRATT
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

"This board needs to monitor itself and set a standard," said board President Jimmy Womack.

Spectators at Detroit Public Schools' board meetings will no longer have to endure wisecracks, insults or other distasteful behavior from board members, under a new policy.

By a vote of 10-1, school board members approved decorum rules last week, agreeing to sanction themselves for public displays of disaffection.

"This board needs to monitor itself and set a standard," said board President Jimmy Womack. "We are holding ourselves accountable and we're telling the community that we're not going to function like previous boards."

The newly elected board took office in January and replaced appointed members, who had a reputation for having ugly public disagreements.

Board member Marie Thornton, who is often a dissenting voice, voted against the policy.

She could not be reached for comment.

At public meetings, the tension and division between Thornton and other board members is apparent. She has criticized and aired some of her disagreements with the board on local radio programs.

But Jonathan Kinloch, who proposed the policy, said it was not meant as a way to censor any particular board member.

"I thought it was something the board should have in place, especially since we were in the process of dealing with policies in general with the conduct of students and of employees," he said. "It was not targeted at any individual; no incidents caused this."

The Board of Education Decorum Policy states that each member has the duty to refrain from combative behavior and personal attacks at meetings convened by or on behalf of the board. If the presiding officer finds a board member in violation, that person may be directed to apologize or be publicly reprimanded. A subsequent violation could lead to a fine; that person wouldn't be paid for one to six meetings, or an amount of $30 to $180.