Finding our voice: Should students be represented on school boards?

By Meghan Pauley
Van High School

In February 2006, Adam King, a student in Asheville, N.C., began work on a proposal to instill a student representative on the Buncombe County Board of Education. The representative, a student advisor, would act as a voice for students in the Buncombe County school system.

King spoke at four board meetings over a period of approximately six months. Although the idea was unheard of to the Buncombe County Board of Education, there are, in fact, several school boards across the nation that have successfully instated student advisors.

“It is important to have representation and input from the students because they are directly affected by the school board’s actions,” King said via e-mail.

King’s project gained support from his school’s principal and more than 60 teachers and other staff members. He also had support from several city council members and state government officials.

King worked extensively to promote his proposal, even holding a public forum and press conference at one point, with multiple television and radio stations present. Nevertheless, in August 2006, the school board formally rejected King’s proposal. Members said that the board had enough student input.

King is currently taking a break from his project, but he is not finished. He continues to report and write on important student rights issues in his school’s newspaper, and he has made plans to work with the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to add a youth advisor to its board.

After school board elections are over and the new members take office, King has hopes of presenting his idea to the board once again.

After being informed of King’s work and questioned about the level of student representation in Boone County, Superintendent Steve Pauley, my father, said, “Boone County students have a voice by participating on the Local School Improvement Council.

“Students have the opportunity to address the board during the school effectiveness meetings held each year in their local school communities. Each community is unique to their own needs, and this provides student representatives from each school an opportunity to be heard.”

Student Jordan Puckett, on the other hand, agreed with King’s proposal.

“I think it would be appropriate for a student to be a representative on the county board of education because the board’s decisions are focused on students and the student environment,” the Van High School sophomore said. “The student voice should be represented by students when school decisions are being made rather than by adults alone.”

“It would be hard to choose one single student to represent the entire county’s student body,” he continued. “If there were to be a student advisor, he or she should have to meet certain qualifications and be able to successfully represent the majority of the students.”

Whether it is adding student representation to the school board or speaking up at public meetings, student involvement in school board issues is important. The school board’s decisions have an impact on each and every student, so in order to be able to make a difference, it is very important that students become aware of the level of representation they have in their community.