Council weighs options as student-commission recruitment proves difficult

City Recorder Rachel Thomas told the Newberg City Council on Oct. 20 that recruiting and retaining student commissioners for advisory boards has been inconsistent and that staff is proposing code changes if the council wants to respond.

Thomas said attendance problems can be addressed under current rules—students who miss 25% or more of meetings may be removed—but recruitment remains a chronic issue. "For students who don't show up, we've got a really easy fix for this that's already in the council rules... if they don't show up to 75% of the meetings, they can be dismissed," she said.

Thomas presented three options: continue current recruitment and enforcement practices; remove student positions from code entirely; or amend the code so that one position designated for a student may, if a student cannot be recruited, be filled by a regular adult commissioner. Thomas said she preferred the third option as part of a broader, later code cleanup but sought council guidance before drafting changes.

Council members voiced support for option three in the meeting’s discussion. Councilor Carmen and other members noted the value students add but acknowledged barriers to participation—nights are difficult for some students, and recruitment at local high schools and the college has yielded inconsistent results. One councilor suggested exploring stipends or other incentives used elsewhere, but Thomas said she had not encountered stipend programs in the municipal examples she had reviewed.

Councilors described possible alternatives—separate student advisory boards, more formal outreach through school counselors, or enforcement of attendance rules—but did not direct staff to make an immediate code change. Instead, Thomas said she will continue recruitment work and would bring any proposed code language later as part of a broader code-cleaning package.

The council did not take a formal vote on this matter during the meeting.