how to testify at a fairbanks north star borough school board meeting

Click HERE for the FNSBSD Board of Education meeting schedule and Public Testimony instructions. Public testimony may be provided either by Zoom, or in-person at the school district’s building at 520 5th Ave in Fairbanks.

If you are interested in testifying at a meeting, either in-person or by Zoom, please email (schoolboard@k12northstar.org) or call (452-2000, ext. 11400) the school board office no later than 4:00 p.m. the day of the meeting to sign-up. Those who have signed-up in advance through the board office will be called upon first, in the order in which they signed up, and if time remains, anyone else who is in-person, will be invited to testify until the one-hour time limit has been reached. Testimony is limited to two minutes per person, for a maximum of one-hour per action item. A person testifying shall state their full name, spelling their last name, and their city of residence for the record.

How to Prepare?

  • Time your testimony! Each person is only allowed two minutes, and it goes by quickly. Once it’s written, practice your testimony ahead of time with a stopwatch to make sure it fits.

  • Reflect on the impact music education has had on your life, or—if you are a parent or guardian, speaking for your child—on the lives of people you care about. What has it meant to you and/or to them?

  • Think of one or two impactful stories you can share about how music has made a difference in your life, or the lives or your children or students’.

  • Learn what research says about why music education is important and jot down some points to include with your testimony. You can get started by reading what NAfME has to say about “Why Music Education Actually Matters” or by clicking here and here for research describing music education’s positive effects.

  • Listen and watch examples of others testifying at Fairbanks School Board Meetings so you know what to expect. You can hear audio by clicking HERE, and scrolling down to the School Board Meeting Schedule table. Click on AUDIO for any of the listed regular meetings. View the meeting agenda to find out approximately when in the meeting public testimony will take place. Click HERE for audio of the 11/16/21 board meeting, with public testimony beginning at 47:10. You can view video of public testimony on the school district’s YouTube channel HERE. Scroll down the newsfeed until you find a “Board of Education Regular Meeting” video. THIS example is from the 11/16/21 regular board meeting. Public testimony begins at 58:35.

  • Click HERE for wikiHow tips on “How to Speak at a School Board Meeting.

  • Click HERE for testimony examples (shared with consent by past testifiers)

  • Remember – when it comes to advocating, sometimes “less is more”.  You don’t have to be an expert in music education to make a difference.  You just need to know a little, and have a few facts to share. (Source NAFME)

  • Broaden your testimony’s impact by also submitting it as a Letter to the Editor to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Click HERE for submission guidelines.