During the last meeting of the year for the Central Bucks School District’s school board on Monday, a new President and Vice President were picked for next year. Susan Gibson of Region 8 was elected the new President by an 8-1 vote, and Heather Reynolds of Region 2 was elected unanimously to be the new VP. Both Gibson and Reynolds won elections last year as part of a blue wave that overturned the previous Republican-Moms for Liberty school board majority.
“I was honored to accept the appointment as Vice President of the Central Bucks School Board as this role carries significant responsibility, which I do not take lightly,” said Reynolds. “I am deeply grateful for the trust and confidence my fellow board members and our community have placed in me. I remain committed to serving our entire community with integrity and transparency, collaborating with my colleagues and the administration to ensure that every decision we make supports the success and well-being of all our students. Together, we can create a future our district can be proud of.”
READ: Meet Three of the Neighbors Who United to Defend Public Education in Central Bucks School District
This was also the first meeting since the school board released a new policy pertaining to public comment. According to the document, comments can only be made by anyone representing a group in the community or school district, any representative of a firm eligible to bid on materials or services solicited by the Board, any district employee, any district student and any district parent or guardian.
While there are also two speaking periods during meetings, the first period of public comment will be limited to agenda items only, according to the policy, while any topic can be discussed during the second period. Students of the district, however, are allowed to speak during the first public comment period on any topic. Those who want to speak also have to fill out a Google Doc beforehand saying what they want to speak about and how they are connected to the District. Commenters will also no longer be allowed to cede time to other speakers.
These new changes come after years of groups like the now defunct ReOpen Bucks (whose founder did not live in the school district but felt the need to speak there anyway), or just private individuals who habitually go to school board meetings in districts they do not live in, made a habit of disrupting meetings and targeting and harassing specific board members.
Tabitha Dell’Angelo, a former CBSD school board member who often faced personal attacks from these groups and individuals, believes the changes will be a good thing.
“I think it’s smart to focus public comment on the agenda,” she said. “People make time to come to meetings after a long work day and it’s unfair to have to sit through a dozen people who just want to air out grievances that are not related to the business at hand.”
