Two students added to board starting Wednesday

Dec. 13, 2022 — When the Siuslaw School District Board of Directors meets for its December meeting on Wednesday, there will be two new faces at the “big table.”

Starting this month, two members of the Siuslaw High student body will sit as members of the Siuslaw School Board.

During its September meeting, the board unanimously approved the following resolution:

“The Board recognizes and values student input in the decision-making process. To support and encourage student participation, the board may allow a student representative to serve as an advisory member of the Board. Student representatives will have the same privileges of discussion that apply to all Board members but may not cast votes on any motions.

“The student representative may not attend executive or emergency sessions. The Board reserves the right to remove a student representative or end the program if issues transpire that lead members to determine it (or an individual) has become counterproductive to the guiding principles of the Board.”

After reviewing applications, juniors Riley Olson and Tiffany Rasmussen were chosen by a committee of directors Frank Armendariz, Maureen Miltenberger and Kady Sneddon.

The two will be sworn in tonight and will be fully vested members of the board except for the previously mentioned exceptions.

“They will sit at the table with the seven elected board members and be invited to participate in any discussions,” explained Board Chair Bob Sneddon. “The addition of the students is expected to bring a different perspective to board discussions.”

The goal is to have two students on the board each year moving forward.

Tonight’s meeting will be at the district office, 2111 Oak St., with the regular session beginning at 6:30 p.m. As always, the public is invited. For those who can’t attend, the district provides a live stream on their YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/SiuslawBoardMeeting.