Student representatives begin on school board

Posted 11/18/14

Last week, the board welcomed the first students to serve in the positions: senior Ben Wetzel and junior Tristan Bohlman. Wetzel serves as the student body secretary on the PHS Student Council and is involved in cross country, swimming and …

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Student representatives begin on school board

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The Powell school board exists to serve students, and now, it will regularly hear their perspectives.

Two Powell High School students will sit on the Park County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees as non-voting student representatives.

Last week, the board welcomed the first students to serve in the positions: senior Ben Wetzel and junior Tristan Bohlman. Wetzel serves as the student body secretary on the PHS Student Council and is involved in cross country, swimming and choir.

Bohlman is the junior class secretary on the student council and also participates in choir and swimming.

“We had talked about trying to get some more input from students, since that is our target audience,” said Rob McCray, school board chairman, during the regular meeting Nov. 11.

Student representatives will attend the board’s bimonthly meetings and share their input, but will not be voting members.

The board has discussed the possibility of student representatives for a while, and moved forward with it during discussions last month.

“It’s a great opportunity for the kids, not only to see how an actual school board functions, but to have some communication between the student body and the school board,” said Nick Fulton, student council adviser, during the school board meeting Oct. 28. “You don’t see that very often.”

Fulton also said that it’s a good learning experience for kids, adding that they were excited about the opportunity.

McCray said the school board wants to hear from students on various topics.

“It would be nice to have that age group’s opinion,” agreed Trace Paul, the school board treasurer.

Student representatives will serve in that position for a full school year. New representatives will be elected by fellow student council members each year.

During the Nov. 11 meeting, Wetzel and Bohlman shared an update on happenings in the high school and also shared their input on the proposed school calendar for coming years. They said they don’t see much of a difference if a fall semester ends before the Christmas break instead of afterward.

Cindy Jacobs, student council adviser, said she appreciates that the board is working with students.

“I’ve always thought it would be awesome to have students be a part of the school board, just so they have a say in their school,” Jacobs said.

“We look forward to working with them,” McCray said.

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