White told board members that being a school board member has become more difficult as local officials have been dragged into national political issues. The politics this year will be unavoidable as school board elections coincide with partisan midterm elections. Parents, meanwhile, are becoming more assertive in their children’s educations. White said this year has been even harder than last year for teachers because so many people are emotional. The most obvious example of this is the topic of mask mandates. School boards have had to respond to changing and conflicting health directives and political and court decisions. A state law passed in 2021 forbade districts from enacting mandates, but it was followed by a court decision that said they could. Bentonville voted to enact a mandate and then was enjoined by another court from doing so. One school board president said her district decided to let patrons speak
about the topic. It wasn’t comfortable, but board members tried to keep order with the help of a timer. Speakers would be called out of order if they mentioned a staff member or board member’s name, and there was a police presence at the meeting. “I do feel like in the end, and over time, people appreciated the fact that they got to say what they wanted to say,” she said. “Was it very hard on us? Absolutely. Did I feel personally attacked sometimes? Sure. I do feel like it helped our community to try to come to some sort of consensus and acceptance of the decisions that were being made, though, by our school board.” Ali Noland, a Little Rock School Board member and attorney with a background in First Amendment law, expressed concern about efforts to limit criticism of elected officials. She recalled what it felt like when her district was under state takeover and was under the control of the State Board of Educa-
tion, which she said often did not allow members of the public to comment during meetings. “I know how that feels to feel like, well, they don’t even want to hear what we have to say,” she said. “You know, those sorts of things. I’m very much on the side of allowing the comment and even allowing them to be critical of us, even though it’s hard, just because I feel like it’s important for the process.” White said school districts must do what is right for their community. He said the board is trying to “bring our community’s temperature level down” and make patrons feel heard. Bentonville has a small boardroom, and he has resisted moving meetings to larger venues. “If you create a stage, people are going to stand on a stage,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s not necessary, and I will tell you we’re still in that discussion. We’re still trying to say, can we take
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