A Call to Order: How to Manage Contentious School Board Meetings

As school board meetings have become places in which angry citizens appear to debate issues constituting the culture wars of our nation, such as mandatory mask wearing or vaccines, as well as whether school curricula promotes critical race theory, this program will provide audience members with information as to what constitutes the best position school districts may take so as to serve as exemplars for the students who are represented by inculcating civic discourse during the operation of school board meetings. This program will also feature our traditional “skating tour” of recent decisions which have been handed down this past year, as well as new laws and regulations that affect the operation of school districts in New York State.

Key Highlights of this program:

•First Amendment rights of the public at school board meetings

•Best practices to diffuse and de-escalate conflict before it gets out of hand

•New laws, regulations and decisions affecting the operation of school districts 

Speakers

David Albert, New York State School Boards Association

Kevin C. McGowan, Brighton Central School District

Jay Worona, Esq., New York State School Boards Association