We're glad to see that the Auburn school board seems to be backing off a proposal that would outright ban its members from contacting the media, but we remain concerned that the board may still consider rule changes aimed more at silencing dissenting opinion than at furthering public communication.

The board on Monday decided that its public information policy would be a better place to address media relations than its ethics policy, and that sounds like a good idea, but the policy needs to be carefully worded so that the free-speech rights of individual board members are left intact.

It's important to remember that school boards are made up of individuals who have been elected on their own merits and their own platforms.

And while the dissenting opinions of one or more members may make some on the board feel uncomfortable, the idea that a completely united front is somehow necessary for advancement doesn't make any sense.

One potential change, for example, would allow individual board members to speak only as “private citizens.” The problem is that, by definition, an elected board member is someone with direct knowledge of, and personal viewpoints about, matters pertaining to the school district.

Naming a spokesperson to make official announcements on behalf of the school district is fine, and it's good to have a set of guidelines in place for board members to refer to, public communication among them, but individual board members must not be restricted from contacting the media to discuss an issue that they believe the public should know more about.

The worst thing any governing body can do is to further insulate itself and its work from the public. This board - and every other like it - should be doing more, not less, to facilitate discussion of its goals, plans and actions with the people it represents.

To that end, however, it must not take part in efforts to silence dissent - even from among its ranks.