Students get a seat at the table

By CATHERINE MCLAUGHLIN

The Laconia Daily Sun

Published: 02-01-2023 2:34 PM

LACONIA — By writing policy, overseeing the superintendent, making plans and implementing goals, school boards shape the vision and current performance of their districts. A state law passed last year now requires New Hampshire school boards to have at least one student member from each of the high schools in their districts. This ensures students have a direct voice, if not a say — student members are non-voting, per the law — in the board’s actions.

The Laconia School Board welcomed a student representative to its table for the first time under the new requirement at its Jan. 24 meeting.

“I’m thrilled,” Board Chair Jennifer Anderson said in an interview. The idea of student board members, she added, was something she advocated for when she ran for her at-large seat in 2021. "Students are the ones living the experience ... their input will be invaluable."

Senior Ella Tryon and junior Nerma Krupic will both represent Laconia High School on the board this year.

“I think it’s important” that boards have student members “because the school board's about the students,” said Tryon, who serves as secretary to the student council, to the senior class and to the National Honor Society in addition to her role as captain of the varsity field hockey team.

“Especially as they are adults, they don't necessarily see what it's like in the school every day. ... Every day we come here and we experience those things” that the board deals with, Tryon continued.

Krupic, a competitive dancer, volleyball captain and track athlete who was elected president of the junior class, is similarly eager to be an impactful, informative voice. 

“Before, our education was kind of just like, put in their hands and they got to decide everything without really knowing what’s going on, without our say,” she said.

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Per the board’s policy, adopted early this year, Laconia will have two student board members who will alternate their meeting attendance and provide a report each meeting. Student members will, in accordance with the state law, be disallowed from non-public board discussions as defined by RSA 91-A. Student members will serve one-year terms that align with the calendar year and the student government will be responsible for determining how student members are selected. 

Especially as student council members, Krupic and Tryon will provide the board not only insight but also potential action items that elected members’ radar could miss, Anderson said. Having two members not only benefits the students by allowing them to share the duties, but also the board by doubling the new perspectives brought to the table. 

Tryon and Krupic were approached by student council adviser Derek Colquhoun about taking on the role, and they were approved by the student council by a vote.

Colquhoun said that he and fellow student council adviser Taylor Osborne encouraged Krupic and Tryon to step up for the posts because of their records of engagement and readiness to take on additional responsibilities on behalf of their peers.

While many states allow and often have student representatives on school boards, according to the National School Boards Association, New Hampshire joins only Ohio and Massachusetts in requiring it. Maryland is the only state allowing student members to vote on board decisions.

The expansion of this role for students, Osborne said, coincides with growth and momentum already underway with student government at LHS.

“I feel like we're really growing the role of student council itself within the school,” Osborne said. “It’s a perfect coincidence where there's going to be more stuff to share about student council right as now student council members are being brought into the school board.”

In addition to sharing insights with the board about how the student mechanisms of activities unfold  — from winter carnival, to prom, to new clubs and fundraisers — Krupic and Tryon hope that their voices will both enlighten and ground the more difficult, even controversial, issues the board encounters.

“It is so important for people to understand what the student perspective is," Tryon said. “I usually watch most of the school board meetings over Zoom or something and I — sometimes it's intense — but there's a lot of things you always wish you could just say.” 

Krupic echoed that sentiment, adding that there is an authority that comes with first-hand experience.

Osborne also emphasized the importance of student voices in grounding challenging discussions, especially when community passions rise. 

“I think that there's a lot of questions outside of the school about what is happening inside the school,” Osborne said. “There's only so many people who can answer those questions — and the best people to answer them are people like the students.” 

“Oftentimes these debates are happening and the people that it most affects are not involved with those discussions,” Osborne continued. “So this is all good stuff, because more transparency is good, and helps lead to a community that trusts its educational institution a little bit more.”

Anderson said that not only student members' input but their inclusion in meetings will shape board discourse. 

“Their physical presence is really an actual, literal, physical reminder that we as a board are student-first,” Anderson said, “and everything we do needs to be driven by what is best for our students.”

These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org. ]]>