School board meetings in Missouri must be open to the public, with a few exceptions for things like personnel issues and pending litigation. But districts have quite a bit of leeway when they set policies for public comment, livestreaming meetings or providing access to recordings. Those policies vary from district to district and from year to year. If you want to influence your school board or follow the decisions it makes, you have to know when it’s meeting, where to get information on agendas and votes and how to address the board. Here’s how to learn what your Kansas City school board is doing, contact members or comment at a meeting in three area districts. To jump to a specific school district, click these links: Center School DistrictHickman Mills C-1 School DistrictKansas City Public SchoolsA note about Missouri lawIn Missouri, school boards are legally required to let residents add items to their meeting agendas by following this process:The item must be related to the district or charter school’s governance or operations.The resident must try to resolve the issue by meeting with the superintendent or someone the superintendent designated. The school district can waive this requirement.After the meeting, or if no one has met with the resident within 20 days of their written request for a meeting, they can ask the board secretary in writing to add the item to a meeting agenda. The request must be sent at least five business days in advance. The board can deny or delay the item if it’s heard a similar item recently or if the resident has broken district conduct rules. It can also postpone the item if there are too many resident-requested items on the agenda.Many district and charter schools also set up additional ways for residents to contact or publicly address board members.State law requires board meetings to be open to the public unless the board is discussing specific topics such as legal issues, real estate and private information about students or staff. Center School DistrictThe school board typically holds its regular meetings at 7 p.m. on the fourth Monday of each month. Several meetings are moved to third Mondays to avoid holidays and breaks. Work sessions and other special meetings are also included on the full board meeting schedule and typically occur first or second Mondays at 6 p.m. Board agendas and documents are posted online. Some older meeting minutes are also available at the same link. Click on a meeting title to find the livestream link right above the agenda. For meetings from 2017 to 2019, see the board’s online archives of agendas and minutes. Board meetings take place at Indian Creek Elementary School, 9801 Grand Ave., unless otherwise noted. Public comments must address items on the board agenda and can take up to three minutes each. The board allows a maximum of 10 commenters. People who want to speak at a meeting must give their names to the board secretary, currently Rebecca Sanders, one week before the meeting. To contact the board, email board@center.k12.mo.us. Members of the public can add an item to the board agenda using the process required by state law. To contact the superintendent, call 816-349-3310 or email superintendent@center.k12.mo.us. Individual board member emails and some bios and phone numbers are also available on the website. Hickman Mills C-1 School District Regular board meetings are typically held at 6 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of the month at the Administration Center, 5401 E. 103rd St. Some meetings are scheduled a week earlier to plan around holidays and breaks. Special sessions will be added as needed. Meeting agendas are on BoardDocs and Zoom links are included in the agendas when available. Some meeting recordings are on the district’s YouTube channel. The website includes links to sign up for public comment about existing agenda items and to a public inquiry form. Public comment allows you to speak to the board about an existing agenda item for up to two minutes. The board allots 20 minutes total for public comment. Requests for public comment are due before the meeting is called to order. A public inquiry is a way to ask a question of the board and get a response, normally in writing. As part of your inquiry, you can also ask that an item be added to the agenda, but that would be up to the discretion of the board. Public inquiry requests are due 10 days in advance of the meeting. Members of the public can add an item to the board agenda using the process outlined in state law. Board secretary and superintendent’s executive assistant Ramanda Hicks can be reached at 816-316-7001 or ramanda.hicks@hickmanmills.org. Board member emails and bios are available online. Kansas City Public SchoolsPublic portions of school board meetings begin at 6:45 p.m. the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, with some exceptions around holidays and breaks. Unless otherwise noted, board meetings take place at the Board of Education Building, 2901 Troost Ave.A meeting notice page has announcements of all meetings, including committees and special meetings outside the normal schedule. The website also has links for livestreaming some meetings and information to get conference call audio for others. Meetings are also archived online.Recent agendas and documents and older ones are also online. At regular business meetings — typically the fourth Wednesday of the month — the board invites up to 10 members of the public to comment for up to three minutes each. To sign up, email board secretary Lisa Limberg at board@kcpublicschools.org or call 816-418-7621 by 3 p.m. the day of the meeting. Alternatively, sign the Speaking at the Board Meeting sheet at the meeting before 6:15 p.m. the day of the meeting.The board requires commenters to avoid personal attacks or inappropriate language and gestures. Members of the public can add an item to the board agenda by following the process outlined in state law. Board member photos, positions and email addresses are posted on the district website.The post Your guide to getting involved with a Kansas City school board appeared first on The Beacon.First published by The Beacon.