Two students selected to serve on Evansville School Board

• Students

Contributed photo Rebecca Fenlason (left) and Jill Lundeen were recently selected to serve as ex officio members on the Evansville School Board.

Talk about it

The Evansville School Board hopes to get more ideas and involvement from students.

At its November meeting, the board unanimously approved the addition of two students to serve in the capacity of school board members.

Seniors Rebecca Fenlason and Jill Lundeen were sworn into office and will now serve as ex officio, non-voting board members for the 2009-10 school year.

Through an application process that involved essay questions and leadership potential, the two seniors were chosen by a faculty and administration committee to serve in this capacity.

Students across the state are afforded this opportunity of local level leadership at the discretion of each individual school board.

According to Katie Klanderud, the Minnesota School Board Association’s director of board development, approximately one fourth – 80 out of 338 – districts have students holding board positions.

“This is an extremely proud moment for the Evansville School Board and the Evansville School District. We are encouraging leadership amongst our student body and this is another way to foster that action,” said Carol Juul, Evansville School Board vice chair.

“The Evansville students of today will be the future leaders of tomorrow, it is our responsibility to help them reach their full potential,” Juul added.

The two students will be present at each board meeting and will hold a seat at the board table.

Although they will not vote, their opinions and thoughts will be valued as they are representing the student body, Juul said.

The students were looking forward to their new responsibilities.

“I feel that it is such a great honor to be selected as a student representative for the Evansville School Board,” said Fenlason. “I look forward to meeting with the school board and working with them every month.”

“We are so excited to bring the ideas of the students to the school board. It is an honor to be given this responsibility,” Lundeen added.

As far as student/board relationships go, Dennis Lang, dean of students, had this to say: “It seems to me having students on the school board gives them some ownership in their school as well as giving the board a direct line to student concerns.”

The Evansville School Board meets the second Monday of the month at 7 p.m.

Tags: evansville school board, news, education, evansville, students, fenlason, lundeen