County to pilot job-shadow program for high school students with auditor and community development

County staff described a job-shadow pilot program for high school students that they plan to launch on Oct. 14, with participants rotating through the auditor’s office and community development to learn county operations. A county staff member said the auditor’s office will host two students for projects such as young-voter outreach and financial services, while community development will take six students to work on planning projects, public hearings and building-permit processes. The presenter said the regular schedule will be Tuesdays and Thursdays in the mornings and that the pilot will conclude with student briefings to the commissioners and a short celebration in the chambers on Oct. 30: “we hope to be able to bring them, up here to brief you all on what they learned... We'll have cookies and lemonade and have the kids here to tell staff, and community members who'd like to come by and learn what they learned.” Staff described careful coordination with school administrators and risk management to confirm indemnification, supervision and logistics. The presenter said the county is keeping the first pilot small and expects to expand to other departments in future cycles; one local superintendent expressed interest in participating in future iterations. Commissioners praised the program as an opportunity for students to learn local government operations and noted the county would leverage the pilot to scale later. No formal vote was recorded; staff asked commissioners to note the schedule and to expect a follow-up briefing at the end of the pilot. The pilot is intended to expose students to county career paths and civic processes and to strengthen ties between schools and county government.