Who told BOE they were not to speak to reporters?

MCPS Public Information Officer: "They were told very specifically that they weren't to speak..."

The video below is the second part of the Press Conference that took place in the hall outside of the conference room where the "not a committee" had met to discuss Board of Education (BOE) members' use of MCPS credit cards. As The Washington Post reporter interviewed BOE President Phil Kauffman a heated discussion broke out between a reporter and the MCPS Public Information Officer, Dana Tofig.

Last time we checked, BOE members were independently elected officials.  BOE members do not work for anyone except the citizens of Montgomery County.  We believe that they still have the right to speak to reporters under the First Amendment even though they have been elected to the Montgomery County BOE.

Yet, listen to this video and hear the MCPS Public Information Officer telling a reporter that "They were told very specifically that they weren't to speak..." 

Who told BOE members not to speak to reporters?  

Why did they listen to that person?

Why won't BOE members answer to the public? Are BOE members being bullied into keeping silent about their use of MCPS credit cards?