A Student Perspective on the Pine-Richland School Board

Hello! My name is Lauren Sundo and I am currently a senior at Pine-Richland High School and the Student Government representative to the school board where my father, Dennis Sundo, is currently serving as treasurer.

I am very excited to get the opportunity to blog for Pine-Richland Patch.

I first heard about the school board representatives through Student Government last year and was very excited to become one for the 2010-2011 school year. At first, I was only assigned to one or two board meetings this year, but then I just started coming every time!

Many of you community members who attend the board meetings probably see my face there often, even in committee meetings. A couple of you have come up and asked me why an 18-year-old girl would want to sit through hours of board meetings every other Monday night.

The truth is, they are very interesting and relevant to me even though I am still in high school. Some of the items, for example, include last year’s backpack policy, lunch prices and the current budget that cuts some of our programs.

Part of my job is to listen to these issues and report them back to our semimonthly Student Government meetings. Watching the school board meetings has given me a feel as to how the school works. The different committees, the contracts, the approvals and the voting!

And all of this is public information.

Watching the school board meetings has also taught me that I have a voice in my community. The school directors were voted in by our community, and their job is to balance the needs of the children with the resources of the community. The members of the community can use their voices at the “recognition of visitors” portion of the meeting to voice their concerns, issues or even to give someone a good pat on the back.

I enjoy hearing some of the community’s perspectives on the schools' issues and have realized again one thing: If you want change to happen, you have to use your voice. I am therefore sometimes surprised to see empty meetings on Monday nights.

All of my observation and knowledge I have gained this year has led me, after I turned 18, to register as a voter so I can vote in the May primary election. So I can use my voice to make change happen. I think voting is one of the greatest privileges this country gives us, something I hope all high school students consider.

I believe even after I graduate in June and am no longer a Student Government representative, I will still continue to attend the school board meetings because I have realized they are an open book to what’s going on in our district.

So come out every other Monday night to a school board meeting! 

Hope to see you there!