Students press board for meaningful, mentored nonvoting representation under Policy 1250

Students from the Superintendent’s Advisory Council (SAC) presented to the Wenatchee School District Board of Directors at a workshop, urging adoption of procedures under Policy 1250 to establish two nonvoting student representatives on the board and to ensure the representation is meaningful, safe and well mentored.

Sierra (student) summarized the SAC’s purpose: “to engage diverse student voices and for students to provide their input and viewpoints regarding issues impacting the WSD.” The students described a selection approach that pulls from a 14‑member SAC: applicants who are already part of the advisory council would volunteer to run, submit a short statement, and—if there are multiple volunteers—SAC members would read statements and vote internally to select two representatives to sit, nonvoting, with the board.

The students outlined several priorities for implementation: make clear the representatives are nonvoting and expected to represent a broad range of student perspectives rather than serve as token appointments; prepare students for potentially controversial topics and social‑media backlash; provide mentorship from board members to help representatives navigate public meetings; and explore ways for student representatives to participate earlier in the policy process, such as the policy committee, rather than only at full board meetings.

Robbie, a student presenter, flagged safety and wellbeing risks: “This would affect the student at home, their family, friends. It could affect their mental health.” Students asked board members to help anticipate controversial items and to prepare representatives so they are informed and supported when discussing sensitive topics.

Board members generally expressed support while raising practical concerns. Board Director Julie said the board must avoid creating unrealistic expectations for students and should manage how student input will be considered in pacing and priorities. Multiple directors suggested the SAC or its representatives participate in policy committee work or bring agenda recommendations to the superintendent to better integrate student voice into committee‑level conversations. Board members also proposed mentorship pairings between board members and student representatives and recommended expanded outreach to recruit a diverse and representative pool of SAC applicants—teachers and staff could help identify students who might not self‑select but whose perspectives are important.

Students and board members agreed on next steps: the board will provide feedback via the superintendent’s weekly communication (an explicit request from the presenters), the policy committee and superintendent will consider how to integrate student representatives into committee and agenda processes, and the SAC will continue preparing candidate statements and selection procedures. No formal board vote was taken during the workshop.

The presenters closed by asking the district to provide materials and ongoing guidance to ensure student representatives are prepared, safe and effective; the board asked for additional detail from the SAC and the superintendent as the policy moves forward.