Tips for Effective Public Comment

In the Portland Public School District and in school districts across the country, direct participation in school board meetings is an effective way to impact public policy directly. Speaking directly to decision-makers via public comment is a civic duty that should not be taken lightly. As such, this page is to provide helpful tips for those who wish to provide public comment at a meeting of the PPS Board of Education. The protocol and requirements to provide public comment at any regular meeting, special session, or committee meeting at PPS can be found in the Comment Period subsection of the Regular Board Meetings Explained page.

Overcome Obstacles

Overcoming the systematic issues preventing diverse voices from being heard in board meetings is key to effective policy that reflects the views of the entire district.

Because local politics is classified as a "low-information environment", comment periods are some of the only times board members have the opportunity to learn the opinion of their constituents. Therefore, it is necessary for a variety of perspectives to be shown during the public comment period. Unfortunately, public policy research has shown that the demographics of public commenters participating in public comment periods during meetings of local democracy are "likely unrepresentative of all city voters or residents". This is because participating in public meetings requires high time and skill costs of attending and speaking at meetings, and therefore, only those with the time and resources end up participating in public comments. This can impact the final decision that Board members make, mistakenly assuming the limited public opinion of one demographic group is the opinion of the entire district. Therefore, it is necessary for those who are disproportionately underrepresented at public meetings, especially people of color, working parents, and students have the opportunity to provide their perspective.

In addition, research has shown that those who live in closer proximity to the issue in question at a public meeting are more likely to voice negative opinions about an issue. As such, it is necessary to look outside your immediate community and think and express your opinions on larger community issues.

Get Involved with an Advocacy Group

Overcoming systematic obstacles is easier said than done. Often, even if you find the time to provide your comment, it can feel like one voice is not enough. Research has shown that interest groups may be more effective at influencing bureaucrats than individuals alone, and a shared language that a group provides shows a volume of support or dissent for a particular issue. The good news is that PPS has a wide variety of advocacy organizations that can help organize a group of commenters and make the hurdles of providing public comment that much easier, from PTAs for individual school communities, to larger district or state-wide groups. You can find many of these organizations in the Advocacy Organizations outside of the District page.

Take Advantage of Draft Policies

A common feature of Regular Meetings of the Board at PPS, is that policies voted during those meetings have been discussed numerous times both in the public Policy Committee meetings and during private executive sessions. As such, the Board has already made up their mind on those policies that end up on the agenda of Regular Meetings, are almost always going to pass that policy during that session. As such, if you wish to provide public comment about a specific potential policy, it is important to provide comment while the policy is a draft policy. Your public comment is more likely to carry weight where more active debate is taking place, during committee meetings, than in a regular meeting, where policy discussion is much more performative. Although regular meetings are better attended, going to a committee meeting will give more weight to your comment.

Remain Civil and Respectful

At the beginning of Board meetings, the Chair asks those in attendance to remain respectful, and that is not only beneficial for Board Members, but for those in attendance as well. Research has shown that high levels of hostility or outrage expressed in public comments can "wound others so much that a group’s ability to keep talking about matters that matter is seriously damaged." Disagreement is necessary and welcome, but public comments should remain at a level of "reasonable hostility" or "no-more-than-moderately disdainful contention" to gain the most effective outcome and create trust among such a small community.

Connect Yourself to the Community

Regardless of what concerns you wish to raise during your public comment, it is important to connect who you are to the wider community that is impacted by the issues you raise. When beginning your public comment, make sure you provide your name, and your connection to the PPS community, whether you are an educator, student, or parent. Researchers have found that "advocating in arguments about a larger public good that extended beyond themselves to other segments of the community or the district as a whole" can communicate the issue more effectively. Instead of focusing on your concerns or how it impacts you as an individual, focusing on community impacts can make your comment a "real and legitimate touchstone for decision-making".

Use Experiences

One of the greatest advantages of a school board is direct access to the experiences of your constituents. Your public comment should include any relevant experience or data you have about the relevant topic. As much as board members rely on administrators, councilors, and committees to help make their decisions, first-hand experience and anecdotes are valuable. Your personal feelings help provide a human lens to a policy or topic. In addition, if you can provide any additional data via outside research, mention that in your comment. Take advantage of your ability to provide supplementary materials to the board during your public comment. Establishing credibility as an expert on the issue, both from your knowledge and experience, is key.

Follow Up

Holding the Board accountable for their actions is important, and the best way to make sure your voice is being heard is to follow up after you make your comment. If you remain silent on an issue, it allows the board to ignore the problem. You can request a follow-up on your public comment by emailing the Board Manager, and you can always submit your comment to the email publiccomment@pps.net.

Template for Public Comment

Here is a rough outline that you can use to structure your public comment. Remember, public comments are limited to three minutes and thirty seconds (two minutes for a committee meeting), so using your time effectively is key.

Good Evening Board Members, Student Representative, and Fellow Community Members,
My name is [Name of Commenter] and I am a [Name Connection to PPS]. I am here this evening to discuss an issue here at PPS that is very important to me. [Raise issue]. I personally have experienced this issue [provide evidence]. This not only affects me but also my community because [focus on larger impact]. I believe the Board of Education should immediately address this concern because [talk about the issue if it remains unsolved]. This situation is incredibly distressing, and I ask the Board to consider those who are impacted by this issue and to work on a solution quickly. Thank you.