A voice for students on school board? ‘No,’ Fargo says

A lot of school boards across the country have student representatives to provide the perspective of the students. The Fargo, N.D., board is dead set against the idea, the Fargo Forum reports today.

It has agreed by consensus that no student representatives will be invited to the board, denying a request by several student leaders.

Under their plan, student board members — one from each district high school — could take part in discussions, but wouldn’t be allowed to make motions or vote as part of the board’s decision-making.

“It (the proposal) really kind of runs against the grain of our policies, to jump from something happening, right to the school board,” board president Linda Boyd told the paper. “All of our processes have a path that starts with your building. All of the buildings have really vibrant student government and student participation that way.”

“We would like to thank the school board for taking the time to discuss our proposal and respect their reasoning behind the conclusion,” one of the students who proposed the idea said.