Dear FHSD Staff and Families:
We are aware of a lawsuit filed Friday against the FHSD Superintendent and individual Board members alleging a violation of the First Amendment during school board meetings.
The District will work with our legal counsel to respond appropriately to this lawsuit.
We want to be clear that the Superintendent and Board of Education are committed to democratic ideals, including the right to free speech. Every patron has the right to address their elected officials and be heard. The District welcomes dissenting views and does not seek to censor individual thoughts of citizens.
Free speech and process are not mutually exclusive concepts though. The District has in place a limited public forum during Board meetings to provide members of the public the opportunity to address the Board, which is one of many ways District patrons may communicate with the Board. With this limited public forum comes reasonable, content-neutral limitations that apply to everyone and are not aimed at particular individuals, groups or viewpoints. We firmly believe that citizens can exercise their First Amendment rights at school board meetings while also following the policies and procedures espoused in Board policies and regulations.
We want to thank the FHSD community for continued engagement around important issues. We are committed to transparency and accountability and will continue to keep you informed about topics that may be of interest to staff and families.
