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Speaking bans should be eliminated

West Virginia Board of Education members are right to be backtracking from an agenda item that appeared last month, banning members of the public from speaking during meetings about items not listed on the agenda.

Board President Tom Campbell has said he wants to remove the ban from agendas going forward. In fact, during the board’s most recent meeting, West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee stood up to speak:

“As we travel across the state, we have many things that we see that may need immediate attention, that’s not on the agenda,” Lee said. As an example, he cited the fast pace of state legislative sessions.

Public bodies including municipal councils, county commissions and county boards of education need to have some control over their meetings, of course. They have real work to do, after all.

As Campbell pointed out, it should be within the rights of the board to limit to one or a few speakers those discussing the same side of a single issue. If it is clear that many others gathered for a public meeting share the sentiment that is voiced by one or a few, there is usually no need to extend the length of a meeting to hear them all repeat the message.

But the message should still be heard.

Now as much as ever, government bodies should strive to encourage freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble and the right to petition for a governmental redress of grievances.

The state board should eliminate the ban.

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