Hilton Head parent threw bags of chicken feed at feet of school board
By Mike McCombs and Delayna Earley
The Island News
The Beaufort County Board of Education (BOE) decided against banning Hilton Head parent David Cook from speaking in-person at school board meetings after flirting over the weekend with the idea of banning him for six months.
At the Thursday, July 6 special meeting, a letter notifying Cook of the consequences of his actions during the June 27 BOE meeting was drafted and discussed in executive session and, after some discussion among Board members, it was decided that the letter would be modified and finalized during executive session before the public session at the BOE meeting Tuesday, July 11.
The finalized letter was then to be hand-delivered to Cook before public session, or mailed to him if he was not present at the meeting on Tuesday.
After discussion during another special meeting on Sunday, July 9 and then executive session prior to Tuesday’s meeting, a decision was reached to send Cook a letter that stopped short of banning him.
“No one was banned,” Board of Education Chair Christina Gwozdz said after Tuesday’s meeting.
Instead, Vice Chair Richard Geier made a lengthy motion that was passed, followed by a statement by Gwozdz.
Geier’s motion was as follows:
“I move the Board find that during the public comment session of the Board meeting on June 27, 2023, a community member violated Board Governance Policy GC-2-23 and the expectation of the Board concerning public comment at Board meetings by throwing several objects at the Board members and hitting a Board member with one of the objects causing a material disruption of the Board meeting. I further move the Board issue a written directive to this community member to not further violate the rues for speaking at public comment sessions by taking physically aggressive actions during the public comment at Board meetings, such as throwing objects at or in the direction of Board members or attending members of the public. I so move.”
Gwozdz followed that with a statement:
“The Board firmly believes input from its constituents, the citizens of Beaufort County, is essential to its effective and responsible governance of public education in Beaufort County. The Board values public comment at its meetings and encourages pubic participation, This Board’s commitment to pubic input and participation is reflected in its public comment sessions during its meetings.
“To better ensure the safety, security and good order of these public comment sessions and allow all citizens, including Board members, a full and fair opportunity to participate and have their comments considered without undue disruption, threats, or fear of harm, the Board has placed reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on public comment through Board Governance Policy GC-2-23. Out of respect for our fellow citizens and to allow all who wish to make public comments to this Board an opportunity to be heard, it is essential that the public comment procedures be followed, and we request all commenters and those in attendance to do so; this includes – by words or actions – not making threats of physical harm, not using obscene language or gestures, not engaging in loud or boisterous behavior disruptive of the meeting, and confining comments to Board and school-related topics.”
As the majority of the 97 books removed from the shelves for review in October have been returned to school libraries, Cook has been vocal about his opinion of the school board and the results of the book review committees. Cook stood up during the public comment portion of the June 27 BOE meeting and told the Board members that they are too chicken to remove the books from schools before tossing bags of chicken feed at their feet.
That action sparked special Board meetings on Thursday, July 6, and then Sunday, July 9. It was at the first special meeting a letter was drafted.
In a draft of the letter as seen in the video footage posted live to the Beaufort County School Board’s YouTube page from Thursday’s special meeting, Cook was advised that the school board has passed a resolution to prohibit him from “participating in in-person presentations in future public comment sessions until December 27, 2023.”
According to the draft, he was to be allowed to attend school board sessions in person, but he was to only be allowed “to address the board during public comments from a phone at a location outside of the school board meeting site.”
The draft states that Cook violated the “Rules of Speaking” that can be found on the backside of the form that he filled out when requesting to be recognized to speak before the board.
“The “rules” clearly state that speakers will not conduct a “breach of respect of the Board” during the speaker’s comments,” the letter went on. “Throwing objects at the Board is clearly a breach of respect and is an actual act of battery against Board Members.”
The decision to prohibit Cook from speaking in person for six months was made in accordance with the Beaufort County Schools, Board Governance Policy, GC-2-23, item IV, paragraph B, which states: Should a participant fail to abide by the reasonable directives of the Board’s or committee presiding officer, the Board or committee may prohibit the offending speaker from participating in future public comment sessions for a period not to exceed six (6) months.
By Sunday’s special meeting, the Board still wasn’t certain what direction it would take. In the end, it committed to continue discussion in executive session prior to Tuesday’s meeting.
“We are going to be discussing this again with legal advice in executive session on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.,” Geier said Sunday.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
Delayna Earley lives in Beaufort with her husband, two children and Jack Russell. She joined The Island News in August 2022. She formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana, Virginia and Kentucky. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
