The Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) governing board has recently shown a troubling pattern of devaluing public comment and silencing constituents who voice dissent. This behavior undermines the fundamental right to free speech, a cornerstone of democratic governance. Three notable incidents from the past four months illustrate this disturbing trend: the decision in February to move public comment from the beginning of the meeting to the end, the board’s interruptions of Janet Klepacz’s February comments criticizing public schools, and a similar episode in early May where a mother’s remarks were halted as she highlighted the unprofessional conduct of a district employee—the baseball coach—because she called the employee by his name.
Shortly after being appointed and installed as Board President, Becky Proudfit made the executive decision to move public comment from the beginning of the school board meeting to the end as a matter of practice for meetings moving forward. Her goal was to solicit more comments on the specific agenda line items, but the intended purpose of public comment is to address the board on “matters not included on the agenda.” Many of the school board meetings regularly run two to three hours, or longer. The rules in place for these meetings require commenters to place a speaking card prior to the 6pm meeting commencement. Families and guests then have to wait until sometimes 8 or 9pm to speak, which shows a lack of respect for the constituent’s time and serves as a roadblock for individuals who wish to address the board publicly.
In a February meeting, Peoria resident Janet Klepacz expressed her appreciation for an optional curriculum from PragerU and criticized the quality of public education by paraphrasing a Bible passage. Her speech included a comparison of public schools to the enslavement of Israelites in Egypt, calling them “evil.” Board member Melissa Ewing, prompted by PUSD candidate hopeful Melissa Girmscheid, interrupted Klepacz, citing inappropriate language. Board President Becky Proudfit elaborated, stating that the rules for public comments prohibit personal attacks. Despite adjusting her language, Klepacz was interrupted again for accusing the federal government of pushing certain documents in schools. Klepacz argued her speech was protected by the Constitution.
A similar incident occurred at a recent board meeting in May when the mother of a student on one of the high school baseball teams criticized the coach’s verbal abuse of students and parents. This mother was in attendance with four other parents involved in the affected baseball team, wanting the district to act. The cabinet interrupted her, calling a point-of-order because she mentioned the coach by name. The board asked that she refrain from naming the coach and tried to shortcut her comment period by asking the superintendent to follow up with her. The mother, after short debate, convinced the board to allow her to finish her public comment without mentioning the coach’s name.
This pattern raises serious concerns about the district’s commitment to upholding the First Amendment rights of parents and constituents. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, under which Arizona falls, ruled in Baca V. Moreno Valley USD on this specific issue stating, “the open session of a school board meeting is a legally proper place for citizens to voice their complaints about a school district’s employees.” This 1996 Baca case is a literal instruction manual to how school districts should handle public comment. Baca v. Moreno Valley Unified School Dist., 936 F. Supp. 719 (C.D. Cal. 1996)
The court further stated how districts cannot only allow positive or neutral commentary on the district or its employees while prohibiting negative ones: “it is difficult to imagine a more content-based prohibition on speech than this policy, which allows expression of two points of view (laudatory and neutral) while prohibiting a different point of view (negatively critical) on a particular subject matter (District employees’ conduct or performance).” A district does not have the authority to suppress speech merely because they disagree with the viewpoint or because they cite employee confidentiality. “Speech criticizing a district employee, even if later proved to be defamatory, is protected by both the California and Federal Constitutions from government censorship…”
The PUSD board’s actions not only have a chilling effect on individuals who wish to speak publicly on matters concerning the district, they outright violate the constitutional rights of these constituents, eroding public trust in the board’s governance. Public comment sessions are designed to be a forum for community members to express their views and hold public officials accountable. When the board selectively silences critical voices, it undermines this democratic process and discourages public participation.
The board must reevaluate its policies and practices to ensure that all community members can freely express their views without fear of censorship. Upholding the principles outlined in Baca v. Moreno Valley Unified School District is essential to maintaining a healthy, democratic process in school board meetings.
Jeff Tobey is a husband and father of four who is engaged with matters concerning the Peoria Unified School District. Having over 20 years in policing experience, including as a school safety officer, Jeff is focused on making PUSD a leader in school safety, academically competitive, and financially strong. Contact Jeff at admin@votetobey.org or visit VOTETOBEY.org to learn more.
Residents and parents need to pay more attention and get out and research school board candidates. I doubt if most don’t even care.
Oh and they will have the police escort you out if you don’t follow THEIR rules. These people need to be called out. The presedent was not even elected by the people she was appointed by the other board members in a private board only meeting. They think they are above the law.