CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board will be growing in number this fall with the addition of a new, non-voting student board member.
During the formal meeting on Tuesday night, the board unanimously voted to add the position to their team, making room for a student representative.
When board member Herbert Nelson brought the idea before his follow school board members in April, he said, “The objective of having this student on here is to give us the feedback directly from the students so we don’t just sit up here and operate in the vacuum. We get direct feedback from the students about what’s going on in the schools.”
Responsibilities of student board member
While the student board member is a non-voting position, they are expected to be involved in discussions of matters up for a vote and to provide feedback on behalf of their student peers.
There will be two student board members: the primary and an alternate. The primary member must attend all of the formal board meetings. If their schedule as a student allows, the primary may also attend the informal meetings/study sessions, but it isn’t mandatory. If the primary can’t attend the formal meeting, the alternate will attend in their place.
Prior to each meeting, the student board member (primary or alternate) will meet with designated CMCSS personnel to go over the agenda, according to the new policy process. Additionally, they will discuss relevant topics, seek feedback from student advisory members and other students on relevant topics, communicate student concerns and perspectives as requested by board members during meetings, and report board discussions and decisions each month to the Student Advisory Council.
The board’s presiding chair or vice chair will determine appropriate times through the meetings to recognize the student member for input on discussions.
Qualifications
Students who are interested in becoming the student board member must meet the following criteria:
- Be a current junior or senior enrolled in a CMCSS high school.
- Be an active member of the CMCSS High School Student Advisory Committee.
- Have a record of good standing with no significant disciplinary actions.
The District High School Student Advisory Committee will nominate candidates for the position.
When will we see new board member?
The District High School Student Advisory Committee isn’t selected until August. Since the beginning of the school year is chock full of work with students coming back to school, the board is giving the advisory committee ample time to vote to nominate their primary and alternate.
The advisory will cast their votes and make their selection in September of each year. The selections will be presented to the School Board for final selection and approval.
The term for the primary member starts in October, when they will begin attending the board meetings in a formal capacity. The primary is only eligible to serve for one term (one school year) but the alternate may be nominated the next school year to serve as the primary.
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