Wake school board approves new rules on teacher gifts, public behavior at meetings
Updated Nov. 21 with final approval of both policies.
New rules are coming to crack down on bad behavior at Wake County school board meetings and to provide teachers more clarity on what gifts they can accept.
The Wake County school board unanimously gave final approval on Nov. 21 to policy revisions that say speakers at board meetings “must refrain from personal attacks and insults.” The revised policy on public participation at board meetings also explicitly warns that people who disrupt meetings face criminal charges if they don’t leave when directed.
“Unfortunately, part of this is enacting civility in this meeting room,” board member Wing Ng said on Nov. 7 when the policy got initial approval. “I wish we didn’t have to do that, but I think that for the sake of everybody having the opportunity to speak freely, I think it’s important that we have some of these rules in place.”
The board also gave final approval Nov. 21 to a new employee conflict of interest policy that allows teachers to accept gifts of up to $75 from individual parents and community members. The new policy also allows teachers to receive gifts of more than $75 if it comes from groups such as PTAs and multiple parents.
Public participation policy
Some school board members and community members have complained that board meetings have seen a rise in uncivil behavior.
Some of the most heated comments have come over the books in school libraries. Speakers and audience members have used terms like “groomer” and “bigot” in their criticism of the board and staff.
The board’s current public participation policy says speakers “are encouraged to refrain from personal attacks and insults of board members, staff and members of the audience.” The new wording changes it to say “must refrain.”
The revised policy also:
▪ Authorizes the board chair to rule speakers out of order for violating the public participation policy. The board chair can then direct speakers to leave the podium.
▪ Adds wording that criminal charges are possible if someone who is asked to leave a meeting refuses to leave. Board attorneys said this option would rarely, if ever, be used but would apply to people who refuse an order to leave after disrupting a meeting.
▪ Requires speakers to remove signs or other materials from the podium area immediately after they finish their remarks.
▪ Puts into policy the recent practice of giving students first priority to speak during public comments.
Renee Sekel, who has been verbally attacked by another speaker at the podium, thanked the board for the policy changes. She says it will help attract people who have been reluctant to attend meetings due to the behavior of some speakers.
“When you pass a policy like this, you are furthering the compelling interest Wake County has in allowing parents to freely exercise their First Amendment rights,” Sekel said on Nov. 7. “Because when we have folks intimidating people who come to these meetings or posting nasty things about them on social media or — as we’ve seen here — attacking individuals from the podium, that is a deterrent to regular parents.”
Teacher gift rules
The new rules on employees gifts are supposed to give teachers more guidance.
Wake County’s school employee gift policy tells teachers they can only receive “token gifts of insubstantial value.” But school administrators and PTA leaders said the vague wording left teachers uncertain of what was permitted.
School administrators initially proposed setting a $50 gift limit in the new policy.
Some board members had not wanted to set any gift limit or to use a limit of $100 or $200 for gifts from individual parents. Board member Cheryl Caulfield was the only one to vote against the new policy because it sets a price maximum.
“I know that even going out for a meal with just your family or spouse can be something that’s really hard for a teacher or any staff to do,” Caulfield said on Nov. 7. “So for me, any gift that we can give a teacher can be a really big relief. People can do what they can.”
But other board members said they need to be sensitive to how some parents can’t afford large gifts.
In a compromise, the board’s policy committee had recommended a $75 individual gift limit.
“I see there being a value in a limitation so that all of our students and families are honored in the policies that we make,” board member Tara Waters said on Nov. 7. “I think $75 is still a very generous amount.
“But I also think the policy protects our educators as well. Some may be uncomfortable accepting large gifts.”
On Nov. 21, AJ Muttillo, assistant superintendent for human resources, said the $75 limit is not cumulative. This means a person can give multiple $75 gifts to a teacher during a school year.
Drawings, door prizes and other items awarded by the school system, professional associations or parent organizations to an employee aren’t subject to the gift limit. This would permit multiple parents to pool their resources to provide a gift of more than $75 to a teacher.
Staff modified the policy on Nov. 21 to make clear it would not conflict with another policy that allows teachers to be paid for private tutoring.
This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 8:10 PM.
