The testimony that the public brings to elected officials is presented to help them better understand their views. Those who serve the public may not always agree or support those views, but that is the role of an elected official.
School board members serve as representatives of the community as they advocate for the students and the school district. School board members are responsible to the public, to whom they are accountable. That’s why it is vital that the school board maintains open communication with the community. The role of a school board member is spelled out here in School Board Member Responsibilities :
Establishing a vision and achieving goals to work toward that vision is important, but so is cultivating trust and transparency by keeping the public informed. Treating the public with respect and maintaining transparency through sharing pertinent information can foster trust and respect between the school board and the local community.
That is why the behavior by Kate Belanger, who serves on the North Hampton school board, has been so disappointing. Belanger serves as Vice-Chair, and during the last school board meeting, she made disparaging remarks to me and other constituents who came to speak during “public comments.” One of those speakers happened to be a young girl who showed courage by addressing the board, and sharing her feelings about a possible transgender bathroom policy that would allow biological boys to share the restroom with biological girls.
You can watch four of us address the North Hampton School Board on August 4th here:
August 4th North Hampton School Board meeting
When the time ran out for me to complete what I had prepared for the board, I kindly asked to share my written testimony with the board members. I was about 3/4’s of the way through, so I wanted to make sure they had a copy to finish reading at a more convenient time.
Kate Belanger responded that she was “all set.” After years of presenting testimony to governing bodies around the state, I had never been dismissed in such a rude and condescending way.
I present testimony to democrats and republicans every year as an advocate for parents, and academic excellence in education. I’ve seen many people run out of time and then hand in written testimony so the legislators can read it at a more convenient time. And even if they never read it, they show courtesy by accepting the testimony.
I did end up sending my testimony to the school board and addressed Belanger’s response to me here. What made this worse was how she responded at the end of the public testimony after the four of us spoke during public comments. One of those people who spoke was a young girl who attends school in North Hampton.
You can hear Belanger comment to the chair that she was using a great amount of restraint while she listened to public comments.
https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZP3PQVZy4Yv3Nn5EUXUp1IPGn8EYbHdtUVV
Belanger wasn’t elected to show restraint while her constituents take their time to address their representatives. This is how the democratic process works. If she has to use restraint to hear from four constituents who are bringing their views to their elected representatives, maybe she should never have run for the seat in the first place.
She should apologize to all four of us who offered testimony during that meeting. I won’t hold my breath, but she should apologize to the young girl who showed grace and courage by speaking on behalf of herself and the other girls in her school. This young girl addressed a sensitive subject with compassion and grace, only to be treated with disdain by Belanger, who is supposed to be serving her needs.
The board chair should consider censoring Belanger for this kind of behavior. Treating a child or any constituent with such scorn fails to meet the role of a school board member. Will other parents and children think twice before speaking during public comments after seeing how Belanger treats speakers she clearly disagrees with?
Sometimes elected officials are not always going to agree with those presenting testimony. That happens every day in Concord, New Hampshire. But representatives and senators must sit there and hear from the public. In 15 years of testifying in Concord, I have never witnessed such contempt as I saw from Belanger.
This is not the way you treat the people you are elected to serve.
It was interesting that the next subject up for discussion at the board meeting was on a statement of inclusivity:
Is this how the Belanger shows a commitment to inclusiveness? Is this how she shows appreciation for diversity of thought? If Belanger is going to vote to support this Resolution of Inclusivity, I hope she will start by showing some respect for community members who come to speak during public comments at school board meetings.
Parents sometimes just want to be heard. And when parents are treated in such a disparaging manner, they will address it. Here is the email sent from the mother (2nd speaker) to the North Hampton School Board:
From: Chelsi ***** <***********>
Date: Thu, Aug 4, 2022, 11:09 PM
Subject: NHS SAU 21 School Board Meeting 8/4
Dear NHS School Board Members,
