To provide the Board with greater insight into student activities, programs, and needs, and to encourage student involvement in District governance activities, the Board may allow one or two non-voting student representatives on the Board. The student representative’s role is advisory.

Process for selection:

Each spring, the current sophomore class will be provided the opportunity to express interest in running for the junior student representative position. The Superintendent will distribute the application to all who expressed interest, with a deadline date determined by the personnel committee. The Superintendent will forward all completed applications to the personnel committee for review.

The personnel committee will determine how many applicants to interview, set an interview date, and conduct interviews of the students. The personnel committee will notify the Superintendent of their chosen student after interviews have been completed. The Superintendent will notify the student and invite them to attend the next board meeting. At the board meeting following the interviews, the personnel committee will make the recommendation to appoint the selected student as the student representative, to be voted on by the board.

Schedule for attendance:

Student representatives are selected prior to their junior year and commit to serving a two-year term. Student representatives participate in all board meetings from September to May and will not attend the June, July, and August meetings. Student representatives also do not attend any special board meetings unless the Superintendent and/or board president feels it’s important to have the student representatives present at special meetings.

Meeting expectations:

The student representatives are not elected members of the board and therefore have no vote. They are representatives of the student voice throughout the district and attend board meetings for that purpose. At no time will student representatives be asked or have the opportunity to speak during the Action Items on the board agenda.

Student representatives will receive the agenda on the same day that regular board members receive their board packets. Student representatives are to review the agenda, and if they have comments or questions regarding anything on the agenda, they must reach out to the board president and/or Superintendent no later than noon on the Monday of the board meeting. The board president and/or Superintendent will answer their questions and address their concerns as necessary.

Student representatives will sit at the board table and may be asked to contribute to conversations throughout the meeting. They may only contribute to the conversations if asked by a board member or the Superintendent.

Student representatives will write a report to share with the board during a designated time of the meeting. The representatives may choose to write one report together to share, or each may write an individual report. The report(s) should not exceed eight minutes in length. If writing individually, each report should not exceed four minutes in length. The report(s) must be submitted to the board president and Superintendent by noon on the Friday before the scheduled board meeting for review. The board president and Superintendent will provide feedback on the report and work with the student representatives to amend it if necessary. Only approved reports may be shared at the board meeting. As is true for all board members, the expectation is that no surprises are presented at the board table.

Role of the Student Board Representative:

The student representatives are the voice of the students in grades PreK–12. Many of the board members do not have children in each of the buildings, and they want to be aware of what is going on with the students in the buildings (elementary, middle, and high). They also want to know if the students have suggestions to improve the quality of education and/or the community culture within their building. The student representatives may communicate with the building principals and Superintendent to share ideas for improvement.

The student representatives may work together on special projects that will be a good addition to the district, improve the quality of education, and/or enhance the community culture within the buildings. All special project ideas should be presented to the Superintendent for approval. If the special project is approved, the details should be included in the monthly report to the board, with updates provided at each following meeting.

As the student voice for the district, it is important that the student representatives identify ways to get input from their peers, as well as students in all the grades younger than them. Special projects should not only be for high school students, but should also include projects for elementary and middle school students.

The student representatives may be asked to attend the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) online CBA 101 course to learn more about the role of the school board.

Legal authority: MCL 380.11a, 380.601a

Date adopted: 08/09/2021
Date revised: