It was a little disappointing to hear Suffolk School Board members would even question holding another public input session this Tuesday.

During last Thursday’s school board meeting, board members discussed Tuesday’s planned session at King’s Fork High School with some saying they did not know what was left to say following the marathon, five and a half hour public input session the board sat through two weeks ago.

During that session, the public had the chance to give its input into the budget process, defending threatened programs, questioning system operations and challenging the board to find ways to trim the budget without impacting the classroom experience.

So what is left to say? Plenty.

Hopefully by Tuesday, the board will have an idea of just how deep the state funding cuts will be, giving them a more solid position on their next budget. They will have a better idea of just what programs will need to be cut and which ones will be saved.

What is left to say? Plenty.

This is the same School Board that just few months ago was critical of the response they received in the Internet parent survey. They complained that only a small percentage of parents participated in a project that was, they said, crucial to continued improvement of the school system.

It was refreshing to hear Superintendent Dr. Milton Liverman defend the next session and the potential comments. He said the ideas and suggestions made at the last session were insightful and the emails received since then have had some good ideas.

Comments made this Tuesday may have less impact than those at the previous public input session, but they are no less important.

They may not go to solving the fiscal crisis facing our schools, but the opportunity for these comments to be made will go a long way in improving the communication between our school system’s leadership and its customer base – the parents of those children who go to school each morning.