Board amends policy to give student representatives advisory votes, and updates discipline language

The South Whidbey School District board approved two policy updates during its public meeting: a one-word change to Policy 3241 and an amendment to Policy 1250 that clarifies student representatives provide advisory votes on agenda items — explicitly including superintendent selection.

On Memorandum 24251 (Policy 3241), trustees said the revision replaces the word "expulsion" with "removal"; the board approved the memorandum by voice vote.

Memorandum 24252 proposed updating Policy 1250 to formalize student representatives' advisory votes. Board members debated whether the policy should single out ‘‘superintendent selection’’ or use broader language such as ‘‘personnel items.’’ A trustee moved to amend the policy so the second-to-last sentence would read: "Student Representatives provide the board with advisory votes on agenda items including superintendent selection as follows." The board approved the amendment by voice vote and then approved the original motion as amended. The board asked for advisory votes from the student representatives before the voice votes.

Trustees framed the change as aligning policy language with existing practice and elevating student representation in district governance. No roll-call vote totals were recorded in the transcript; both actions were adopted by voice vote during the meeting.

Next steps: The approved policy language will be reflected in the district's policy manual as indicated in the memoranda presented to the board.