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A couple of weeks back, we mentioned that the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees is considering putting a cap on how long speakers get to, ya know, speak at board meetings. Turns out -- surprise, surprise -- there's some dissent amongst the board regarding the proposal: At Thursday's briefing, the board will consider two versions -- one from board president Adam Medrano, and yet another from former president Jack Lowe.
Lowe, who lost the title of president in May, offers up this mathematical equation: If seven people or fewer want to speak to the board, they get three minutes each per topic; but if there are eight to 14 speakers, they'll be allocated two minutes each; 15 or more will get but 60 seconds to speak their mind. To which Medrano says, Unh-unh. His proposal allows for three minutes per speaker, no matter how many are lined up to address the board. Both men, however, are agreed on the other suggested restrictions -- including the one that calls for the ouster of "boisterous" audience members and the one that allows for the removal of media members who refuse to stay in their "designated area." Again, I blame Schutze for this.
Keep the Dallas Observer Free... Since we started the Dallas Observer, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Dallas with no paywalls.
