Board introduces two ex officio student members: Noah Kent and Mattea Solera

The Southampton Union Free School District Board of Education introduced two students as ex officio members of the board, saying the district adopted a policy allowing two student representatives and conducted interviews to select candidates.

District staff presented Noah Kent, described as a rising senior, and Mattea Solera, described as a rising junior, as the two students chosen to serve. "I would like to be on the board of education," Noah told the board during his remarks, and he said he plans to promote board meetings to students and pursue beautification projects at the high school.

Mattea said she hopes to "make people want to talk about school, want to be excited to go to school and ready to learn," and emphasized plans to gather student input and ensure diverse voices are heard.

Board presenters said they interviewed multiple students and selected the two candidates after considering how they would engage the student body. The selection follows earlier policy work adopting the ex officio student-member role; the board welcomed both students and excused them early so they could prepare for scheduled exams.

Why it matters: The ex officio seats give students a formal channel to bring peer perspectives to board discussions and may affect how the district gathers student feedback on issues like start times, school climate and extracurricular opportunities.

Procedural note: The transcript records the announcement and student remarks; no formal roll-call vote or additional procedural action was recorded in the meeting transcript when the students were presented.