Students look to bridge gap on Pasco School Board

PASCO — Courtney Campbell and Eurydice Gallegos won't have a vote on the Pasco School Board.

They won't attend closed-door sessions or be privy to sensitive information about lawsuits or real estate deals.

But as the board's newest student representatives, they'll be a voice for their peers -- bringing the student perspective to everything from budget talks to curriculum. They're among a growing number of Tri-City teens playing a greater role in district decision-making with advisory spots on area school boards.

"I'm excited to see what we'll come up with, what issues we'll have to deal with," said Campbell, 17, who started her one-year term last week. "I'm excited for the entire year."

The Pasco board has had student representatives since 2003. It's in the minority state-wide because 25 districts -- out of nearly 300 in Washington -- report having student board members. The only other one from the Mid-Columbia is Prosser, which added two student board representatives last year.

But at least two other Tri-City area districts -- Kennewick and Columbia-Burbank -- will add student seats this fall.

"As a board, we're hoping the students will let us know (their classmates') thoughts and ideas about different decisions being made in the school district," said Garrett Stark of the Burbank board. "We hope to use their input to make better decisions."

Pasco's first student representative to the board was a 16-year-old honor student from Pasco High. When the teen, Angela Zhang, took her seat seven years ago there were 13 school districts in the state with student board members.

Last year, Pasco expanded its program by adding a second student representative -- a move prompted by the opening of Chiawana High on West Argent Road, the district's second traditional high school. (The district also has New Horizons High, a smaller alternative school.)

Campbell will be a senior at Chiawana this fall. The 17-year-old hopes to attend Oregon State University after graduation and then go on to medical school.

Gallegos, the other teen on the board, is an incoming senior at Pasco High. After graduation, she wants to attend the University of Puget Sound and study international affairs.

Both students plan to hold regular meetings with their classmates to provide updates on board business and find out what issues teens would like to see discussed.

"I want to bridge that gap between the school board and students," said Gallegos, 17.

The students also may look to social media sites such as Facebook to engage their peers.

That's been effective for teen leaders in other parts of the United States.

In April, The Washington Post featured student board members in the D.C. area who tapped into social media to campaign for their posts and gather feedback from classmates. One of the students even posted videos on education issues via You Tube, the paper reported.

In Pasco, the student board position hasn't been quite so political. The students attend meetings, study the written material given to members as background and occasionally pipe up with opinions or suggestions.

Superintendent Saundra Hill said last year's student representatives -- Kiersten Merrill and Ofelia Rodriguez -- were especially helpful as the board grappled to set a maintenance and operations levy amount in the face of an uncertain economy.

The students didn't want the board to ask for too little out of a fear that voters would reject a larger amount at the ballot box.

Board members took their input to heart, Hill said. The district's levy, which asked for an increase over the existing measure that was set to expire, passed with room to spare. Levies help districts pay for day-to-day costs such as textbooks and staff salaries that aren't fully covered by the state.

The business of school boards isn't always so high stakes. Often members deal with more mundane issues, such as updating policies or approving field trips.

It's good for students to see the full scope of board work, officials said.

"At the end of the year, (our student representatives) often say, 'We had no idea there was so much involved,' " Hill said.

During Campbell and Gallegos' first meeting last week, a Pasco resident told the board he was disappointed to see a "No dogs" sign posted at a school near his house. He often walks his dogs at the school, he said.

He asked the board to look into the matter.

Campbell said that was a powerful lesson for her. "I don't know if people realize how much the board affects us," she said. "I think that most people think -- and I did until (that meeting) -- that it's just decisions about things like budget."

But the impact of board decisions can reach far beyond school grounds, she said.

Like Pasco, the Columbia-Burbank board will have two student representatives in 2010-11. The teens already have been selected, though the district hasn't yet announced their names.

In Kennewick, 17-year-old Akshai Baskaran will be the first student board representative. He was picked from a pool of five candidates.

He said having a student on the board will lead to a student body that's better informed about district decision-making. And he expects to gain something from the experience.

The position will provide "a great opportunity for me to learn how the board makes decisions and solves problems so that I can help contribute to a better student atmosphere," he said in an e-mail.

Baskaran, an incoming senior at Kennewick High, will take his seat later this summer.

Campbell and Gallegos were sworn in last week. At the start of the meeting, they were called up front to take their oaths. The teens, dressed in sharp business clothes, raised their right hands and pledged to perform their duties faithfully and to the best of their abilities.

Then they signed some papers and took their places on the dais, ready to get to work.

This story was originally published August 1, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Students look to bridge gap on Pasco School Board."