School board votes to remove establishment of Student Advisory Board from policy

At the last meeting of the school year on June 5, 2024, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) school board voted to approve Board Policy 9110, removing the establishment of the Student Advisory Board (SAB) from policy.

The policy change was introduced at the previous school board meeting with no discussion from the school board members to explain the reasons for the move, but a support statement on the school board agenda website says:

“The board believes it is important to seek out and consider the ideas, activities, viewpoints, and accomplishments of school sponsored organizations.”

“Regardless of the decision made on BP 9110, the Student Advisory Board will continue to advocate for students’ voices and concerns,” said SAB Representative Ocelia Bell as she was giving the SAB report, adding that the including students allows for fresh and diverse viewpoints, allowing for innovative solutions as well as a sense of community. “Student representation is essential because it empowers young people, ensuring their voices are heard and their perspectives are included in the decision-making process…young people challenge the status quo, promoting positive change and holding adults accountable.”

The policy change says that the purpose is to expand opportunities for students to be able to present to the school board, transitioning from a single source of information to a regular rotation of different student groups more representative of the varied needs, priorities, and viewpoints of all schools.

“There is no reason why you should remove the ability of our Student Advisory Board Representative from giving a report to this board every meeting,” said Dina McHarg, a mother of three students at Su Valley Jr/Sr High School. She said that while the SABR can continue to speak under the ‘Persons to be Heard’ portion of the school board meetings, so too can Tribal members, community council members, and others “privileged to have a section in the ‘Reports’ section of the meeting.”

“These after all are the students who are elected by their peers, just as you and other representatives are elected by the people they represent. Give them the opportunity to present their concerns, their feelings, their ideas to every meeting.”

The board policy change states that the Superintendent or designee shall develop a process to provide input from K-12 student organizations across the district during the ‘reports’ section of regularly scheduled MSBSD school board meetings.

The change omits the bi-weekly report from the SABR and instead calls for a quarterly ‘Secondary School Student Government Report’ from a district-wide group of secondary students elected from their school’s student body to serve as a student government representative.

These representatives are to meet with their elected peers to discuss initiatives, highlights, celebrations, suggestions or recommendations to the Board, and opportunities for Board members and other stakeholders to engage in their school’s various activities.

Additionally, K-12 student organizations across the District will be selected to address the Board during the school year and provide information and input.

When it came time for the proposed change vote, member Ted Swanson told the board he was voting no and attempted to make a motion to table the proposal and change the language of the proposal that would have kept the SABR report as well as input from K-12 student organizations across the district, and a quarterly ‘Secondary School Student Government Report’ from a district-wide group of secondary students elected from their school’s student body to serve as a student government representative.

The motion failed to gain a second to allow for discussion and the board moved to vote, passing the policy change 6 to 1, with Swanson casting the only opposing vote.

The scheduled MSBSD school board meeting on June 19 was canceled, and the next meeting of the school board will be held Aug. 7.