FORT SMITH -- In light of restrictions on large gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Fort Smith School District has outlined its procedure for citizen participation during the next regular School Board meeting.
The virtual meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. Monday, the school district announced. It will originate in the service center auditorium in Building B of the Fort Smith Public Schools Service Center Complex at 3205 Jenny Lind Road. No more than 10 people may be present in the auditorium at that time.
Board President Bill Hanesworth, School District Superintendent Doug Brubaker, Deputy Superintendent Terry Morawski, Executive Secretary Nadine Brooks and meeting presenters will attend the on-site meeting, while six board members and the remaining members of the Superintendent's Executive Council will attend virtually.
Any resident who wishes to speak to the board will have to complete a "request to speak form," which is available at bit.ly/request2speak, and submit it at least 72 hours, or three calendar days, before the meeting. The deadline would be by 5:30 p.m. Friday. The board cannot accommodate day-of-meeting requests to speak because of preparations necessary for social distancing.
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Speakers are asked to arrive at the auditorium no later than 5:20 p.m. on the day of the meeting and remain in their vehicles. A meeting moderator will call to notify each speaker when it is time to enter the auditorium. The board president will recognize speakers shortly after they arrive. Speakers are asked to remain seated until then.
Fort Smith residents, school district parents, students and staff members are invited and encouraged to watch the meeting live on the Fort Smith School District YouTube channel, which is accessible at https://bit.ly/34SRD0e or watch a recording of the meeting on the School Board videos webpage later in the week afterward. The videos page is at https://bit.ly/34UyISD.
Zena Featherston Marshall, executive director of communication and community partnerships for the Fort Smith School District, said reporters can watch the meeting on-site.
The Fort Smith School Board will meet online until coronavirus restrictions are lifted, a news release states. The board first met virtually April 13 for a called meeting.
State Desk on 04/22/2020