sDysart Unified School District (DUSD) reduced the public speaking limit from three minutes to one and a half minutes for the second time at the October 5, 2026, board meeting. Board members did not formally discuss or vote on the format change.

Arizona law allows school boards to impose reasonable speaking-time restrictions. But board President Steve Skvara imposed the restrictions without discussion. When multiple citizens request to speak, the board president or presiding member may reduce speech times for a specific segment. However, only three people spoke during the last DUSD meeting.

In an interview with the Arizona Globe, board member Dawn Densmore—who’s currently running for reelection—said she believes the time change violates constituents’ rights to address elected officials in a public forum. Densmore confirmed there was no board discussion before Skvara made the change as he set the agenda.

“At the end of the [September 21] meeting, I requested an agenda item or a discussion on this. He denied my request. So, now we have had two meetings, and we are at ninety seconds. There’s no change for the next meeting at the end of this month. This is one step from shutting down public comments completely. He is trying to stifle freedom of speech.” Densmore said.

When asked what led to the time change, Densmore speculated that Skvara may have cut the speaking time because of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protestors outside. However, some Dysart residents suspect Skvara is cracking down on what he perceives as personal attacks from those with opposing views.

On September 25, the Surprise-based advocacy group Pay Attention AZ posted an online statement that said Skvara made the decision without announcing it because he didn’t want to hear from the community. The group also pointed out that two attendees came to the meeting expecting to receive their full three minutes of speaking time.

Densmore told the Globe, “It’s not like we have a room full of people signing up to speak. It’s two or three moms. One parent I spoke to had no idea the time would be cut short and she needed a resolution for PTA concerns. I’m very disappointed in Skvara’s leadership.”

Densmore admitted that she and Skvara have had a rocky professional relationship on the school board. Their partnership incurred further strain after Skvara’s wife challenged Densmore’s campaign signatures earlier this year.

Densmore, who is a conservative, believes Skvara aligns with the political views of candidate William Conium—who Save Our Schools Arizona (SOS) endorsed. Conium, she said,  registered as a Democrat but switched to independent status before filing his statement of interest for the DUSD school board race.

“I respect people’s First Amendment rights, even those I don’t agree with. I will fight for their rights. The ninety seconds need to go. Speaking time needs to go back to three minutes,” Densmore said.

The Globe reached out to Skvara for comment but didn’t hear back.