Letter: School board, mayor wrong on public input

What is it that causes some Beaufort County officials to cower in the face of criticism?

First, the school board adopts a policy banning the public from addressing people by name at board meetings, including the superintendent and members of the board.

Then we learn that Hilton Head Island Mayor David Bennett sought to preclude a frequent critic from addressing a recent meeting of the Hilton Head Town Council before he was overruled by Town Council members.

Could it be that these officials are afraid that open discussion will expose the fault lines of their actions (e.g., failure of the school board to adopt a strong anti-nepotism policy) and their paternalistic approach to governing (e.g., Bennett's unilateral decision to ban Skip Hoagland from making public comments at Town Council meetings because, in Bennett's view, he had abused the "privilege")?

Actually, Bennett and the school board have it backward. They were elected to serve the public (a privilege), and the public can and should take advantage of every opportunity to comment on their performance (a right).

And if they can't take the heat ...

Ted Kerrine

Bluffton

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 7:12 AM with the headline "Letter: School board, mayor wrong on public input."