The Board of Education of Charles County is hosting a Town Hall on Monday, March 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the boardroom at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building. The Starkey Building is located at 5980 Radio Station Road in La Plata. The Town Hall is open to the public and will also stream live to the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) website at www.ccboe.com and to the school system YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@ccpsmd.
Community members are invited to attend and can ask questions/provide comments either in person or virtually. At the start of the Town Hall, CCPS staff will provide a brief presentation on the topic of school safety. The remainder of the Town Hall time will be reserved for questions, answers and comments from attendees. Questions, comments and/or other ideas shared should reference education-related topics. Attendees – in person or virtual – will be asked to limit their time to two minutes to allow for other attendees to ask a question, provide comments, etc. Interpreting assistance will be available in Spanish both in person and on the virtual platform.
Community members interested in sharing a question, comment, topic or idea in person or virtually must register in advance. The Board also encourages community members to submit questions, comments and/or topics in advance. Below is information about virtual and in-person registration, as well as a link to an electronic form in which community members can use to submit questions in advance.
Virtual participation – register by 4 p.m., March 24
Virtual participation will run through Zoom. Click here to register to participate virtually. The virtual format is limited to attendees who would like to provide commentary during the Town Hall or follow along through Zoom (and not the livestream). To allow staff time to prepare for the virtual portion of the Town Hall, registration is required and will close on Friday, March 24, at 4 p.m.
In-person participation – sign up on site by 7 p.m., March 27
Community members interested in sharing a question, comment, topic or idea in person can sign up on site at the Starkey Building on March 27 by 7 p.m. A sign-up sheet will be posted outside of the boardroom. Attendees are encouraged to sign up prior to 7 p.m. since all speakers will be asked to limit their time to two minutes to allow as many attendees to ask questions/share comments as possible. In-person attendees who sign up to speak will receive an assigned number and be called to speak by that number. The Board will rotate between in-person commenters, virtual commenters and submissions shared using the electronic form.
Submit questions, comments, topics in advance – deadline is 4 p.m., Tuesday, March 21
The Board would like community members to share questions, comments, ideas and/or topics in advance. This will enable staff to research and provide answers during the meeting. An electronic form is below. The Board will address submission content during the Town Hall. The form will close for submissions at 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 21, so staff can collect and research submissions.
Click here to access the form to share advance question/comments
Town Hall format
At the start of the Town Hall, CCPS staff will provide a brief presentation on the topic of school safety. The remainder of the Town Hall time will be reserved for questions, answers and comments from attendees, and responses from Board members and CCPS staff.
Questions, comments and/or other ideas shared should reference education-related topics. All speakers should identify themselves. Personnel matters, pending or potential appeals, or comments regarding the actions or statements of individual staff members or the private lives of any individual are not appropriate topics for the Town Hall. Proper language and decorum are required at all times.
