By Elise O’Brien, UP Youth Intern

Every year, the U-32 school board has to make a decision on budget cuts for the district. These decisions have been largely made by adults in their district, until this year. The U-32 Student Council aimed to change that by bringing student voice into the budget process and form a stronger bond with their school board.

This is their third year as an established Student Council, which was a student led initiative from the Changemakers Class at U-32. Every year, up to three people in each grade are elected onto the council for one year, with both a middle and high school staff advisor. While on the council, they work together on projects to improve life in the school and community.

When they decided they wanted students more involved in the budget process, the first step they took was learning as much as they could about the proposed cuts and the many views on it within their community. They took a day off of classes and had guest speakers come in, including the head of special education, two members of the teachers union, their principal, and others in various positions in the community. This provided them insight into what others thought so they could give students the whole, unbiased picture of what was really happening.

After this, they put together the data they had collected so they could present it to the students at U-32. Along with this, they presented them with the proposed budget document from the school board so they could form their own opinions. Now that they had all of the information, the students moved around the room and answered questions on big sheets of paper in a chalk talk style activity:

  1. What is important for the school board to understand about our school? What do students see that the board might not?
  2. What do you think should be protected in the budget? What should be prioritized in the budget?
  3. How can the board better communicate with the U-32 students and families?
  4. What does every U-32 student need to have in order to be successful and experience wellbeing?

This presentation and activity were very informative for the students and Student Council members. It provided the students with information they hadn’t gotten from anyone else. The questions they answered gave them a chance to speak up and add their voices to the conversation around school budgets they hadn’t been involved in before. For the Student Council members, it gave them the data and opinions they needed to bring to the school board and make an impact on their decision making. The Student Council is there to amplify the voices of the student body, and using their direct opinions makes their speech even more powerful.

After this, they wrote and presented a multi-part speech about what the students said in response to the questions and what the board can do to include them more. This includes ideas like more school board presentations and conversations with students, more transparency, and more involvement of students in decisions that affect them. This was followed with a Q&A about the student council and the student opinions on the topic at hand.

The presentation to the school board went very well. The school board had an overwhelmingly positive reaction and requested they partner with the Student Council on more issues that pertain to the student body. Simple presentations and connections between the students and the leaders in their schools have a big impact on school life and communities. Forming these partnerships and taking into account student voice is essential for a school to function and collaboration to thrive.

To access their speech, use this link. Read more about their initial work with UP here.