Silver Consolidated Schools / Board Meeting – 17 November 2015

Welcome to our special coverage of the Silver Consolidated Schools Board Meeting. at Cliff High School on Tuesday 17 November 2015.In recent weeks, these pickup trucks, and by some accounts a third truck, displaying large Confederate battle flags along with American flags have been seen in the Cliff / Gila area and, more disturbingly, parked immediately adjacent to Cliff High School on the County Fair Grounds property.

A discussion with Cliff High principal, Dean Spurgeon, confirmed that these trucks are driven by Cliff High students with the awareness and support of their parents.  Mr Spurgeon stated that the school prohibited the students from parking on school property but had no power to forbid them from parking on the adjacent county property.

Gila resident Kyle Johnson attended the Silver Schools board meeting – coincidentally scheduled at Cliff High School – to record the meeting and comment on the Confederate flag issue which was conspicuously absent from the agenda.

A 2nd – and possibly more controversial issue – was proposed by school board members regarding the elimination of open public comment at school board meetings in favor of a process that is imposed upon school employees and would in effect force citizens to run a gauntlet of SCS administrative procedures and approval – outside of the requirements of open meetings – before they would be permitted to speak on any issue that is not an “Action Item” on an agenda.  Where such procedures are suggested – much less implemented – it should not be surprising that a chilling effect on 1st Amendment rights results.

An account of the meeting is posted at The Silver City Daily Press.

This link is for gavel to gavel coverage to the point where the meeting was adjourned for the executive session.

Silver Consolidated Schools / Board Meeting 17 November 2015

The agenda is available from the SCS website.