Message from the school board to the students: Children are to be seen, not heard

They say that everything old is new again, and after the latest Matanuska Susitna Borough School District board meeting, it seems clear that the district decided its brand is a throwback one—that children are to be seen and not heard.

Consider the decisions the very conservative school board has made recently, from approving a policy that prevents transgender students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity, to now, the latest proposed policy change that essentially strips the lone student voice of doing the one things kids do well-ask questions-and giving the appearance that students are represented.

Oh wait, the board moved the student representative from the dais to the audience. So maybe children are not seen and not heard, thus expanding the idea that the school board only wants to hear from its own echo chamber.

During the school board’s latest meeting, when Student Advisory Board Representative Ben Kolendo quietly but eloquently asked the board to explain the reasoning behind the policy change, something well within his right as a member of the school board, he was met with stony silence from the board.

There were hints of why, as verbalized by school board member Jacob Butcher when he implied that external influences to the student representative position are responsible for the proposed changes. He didn’t expand on his statement during the school board meeting, simply stating that pressures from the outside may have threatened the authority of the school board, forcing the board to restructure their membership and reduce the role of the student advisory board to being seen, and only heard at the pleasure of the school board.

Every time a policy change involving students has been brought before the board, and students come to speak out about the issue, they face the imposing dais with the 7 officials who are supposed to act on the needs and best interests of students. Not an easy thing to do. But they get up there, speak and hope to change a mind, or at the very least, garner a little compassion, about the issues that clearly impact the students over just about everyone else.

The only one who ever seems moved is Ted Swanson, who is also the youngest and seemingly the most open-minded member of the board. Meanwhile, the rest of the board appears downright unmoved when an LGBTQ student nervously asks the school board for protection provided by letting them have a single bathroom stall.

Further evidence that the school board is uninterested in the needs of the students is the policy change the board made to the definition of a library. The school board saw fit to remove the idea that a library is a safe space for students, that school libraries no longer are a place where students and staff are effective efficient users and creators of ideas and information, and that the only thing the school library is for is “a collaborative and interdisciplinary center to support the academic needs of the learning community.” The board removed the idea that a school library is also a place for the exchange and collaboration of artistic and recreational ideas, the place to learn about and explore diverse perspectives.

That seems counterintuitive to a US Supreme Court decision, Island Tree School District v. Pico, in which students sued that school district when the board tried to remove books from the school because they thought it violated their First Amendment rights provided by the Constitution.

“The special characteristics of the school library make that environment especially appropriate for the recognition of the 1st amendment rights of students. And why is that? It’s because a student can literally explore the unknown, discover areas of interest and thought not covered by the prescribed curriculum. The student learns that a library is a place to test or expand upon ideas presented to him in or out of the classroom.”

The school board is making all of these decisions, yet one can’t help but wonder when the last time any of them truly listened to a middle school or high school student. Or remember their own experiences at that age. When parents and teachers would lay down the rules and most kids reacted with the defiance that is all too familiar with being a teenager. Or when a teacher tells a student to clean the dry erase board, and when asked why, the answer was ‘because I said so.’

Kids today are much savvier and more progressive than previous generations, often at a faster pace than adults can keep up with, and they aren’t always willing to do something without being told why.

The SAB isn’t new-it was set up in 1979, and for 45 years, a student from the district has been a part of giving a voice to the biggest stakeholders of the school district-the students. That is at the core of what they do—act as an Advisory Board to the School Board, allowing for student input into educational decisions.

Then there’s Kolendo, who was elected by the SAB to represent them at the school board. He previously served as SAB rep in the 2021-2022 school year before being re-elected for this school year.

And he’s not someone who just up and decided to become involved in this one day. He is involved, whether it’s with the SAB, where he serves on the Curriculum Council on the SAB, or co-hosting a podcast, "Real Talk with Real Youth," that cover topics and issues of interest to Mat-Su community members. He’s probably got a better finger on the pulse of education and students than many on the school board. Yet his motives are being questioned and his input is being silenced.

Perhaps the school board should reconsider this latest proposal to reflect their professed core beliefs—that the needs and best interests of students drive all decisions, that all students can and want to learn, and that educational choices and community participation are essential to student success.

It’s not a big ask for the school board to do a little re-branding like corporations often do when they need a reboot. Facebook changed to Meta in hopes of stemming a wave of negative publicity. Same with Aunt Jemima maple syrup, which changed its name to Pearl Milling Company, removing the breakfast staple's iconic imagery, saying the previous packaging does not "reflect our core value." The board should not make any changes to the member status of the student representative because, as someone stated at the meeting, you need their voice to succeed. This is one time when children should be seen and heard.

The Frontiersman editorial board includes publisher J. David McChesney, managing editor Jeremiah Bartz and reporter Katie Stavick.