Members of the public will be allowed to attend meetings of the Greater Essex County District School Board after in-person attendance was limited earlier this summer.
While the public will be allowed to attend meetings in-person, there will be enhanced security measures in place at the administrative building during public meetings and the board will establish standards for members of the public attending in person.
Because of concerns for the safety of staff and board members the June 20, 2023 meeting was closed to the public with live streaming access only, until a new safety plan was devised.
The decision was made following several incidents at previous board meetings where members of the public were deemed disruptive.
Following the decision to limit in-person attendance, a protest was staged outside of the board office while the June 20 meeting took place inside.
Members of the group Parents for Parents Rights protested over gender identity policies and being denied access to the public meeting. A counter-protest was also put together by community members and those from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to show support for the school board.
Public attendance will be now allowed at the Tuesday, Sept. 19, board meeting, with the doors opening for public attendance at 6:30 p.m.
A maximum of 133 seats will be available and that number will be monitored by security personnel.
All visitors will be required to sign in and then sign out at the conclusion of the meeting.
Signs, posters and other props will be prohibited.
Meetings will continue to be live-streamed for the convenience of the public.