Not Bored Meetings

They may have yet to become  alums, but that’s not stopping Sean Raymond and Molly Mulligan from wanting to join the district’s school board.

Sort of.

Raymond, a junior and Mulligan, a senior, are both actively involved in the Student Council, as well as the high school’s newspaper, Hat Chat. Soon, Raymond and Mulligan hope to become active participants in the district’s school board by sitting at the table as non-voting members.

The idea, they say, is to give the school board a much-needed student perspective, and possibly encourage their peers, as well as adults, to attend the meetings.

“They don’t understand a lot of the issues today because, let’s face it, they’re not going to school every day,” Raymond said of the board. “Molly and I are not the only students that go (to meetings), we’re pretty much the only community members that go.”

Mulligan said she first got interested in the school board as a sophomore during the lengthy .

“The issue with teacher negotiations was huge and kids just had no idea what was going on,” she said, adding that she wants to “bring it back to a focus where it’s for the students so we can have more of a say in what’s happening.”

Superintendent Curtis Griffin said the board authorized him to look into different options and the possibility of incorporating student representatives.

“(The students) would like to reinstate the student involvement with the school board. They are very interested in having a student voice on what’s happening in the school district and sharing that with our school board,” Griffin said. “In concept, the board is in favor of some type of formalized student representative.”

Both Raymond and Mulligan said recent changes to the way final exams are administered spurred them to want to get involved with the board. Before, they said each day was designated as its own subject as compared to now when exams are given by period.

“It’s just a little bit more grueling,” said Raymond, who also attends the Horsham Land Reuse Authority meetings related to the redevelopment of 

Mulligan said the board previously had a student school board representative in place to share student feedback. But, her goal before she graduates, is to take that role to the next level.

“It’s never really been done with our high school careers,” Mulligan said of her hope to have a student actually sitting at the table.