Like all other Pennsylvania school districts, Tyrone has a nine member school board.  But go to a TASD school board meeting and you will typically see eleven people take their place at front of the room.

The two “extra” voices at the table are students from Tyrone Area High School.

Junior Grayson Putt and senior Haley Butina are the 2016-2017 student representatives on the Tyrone Area School Board. Both students attend school board meetings to bring a student perspective to the board.  Although the students are not voting members and do not participate in student discipline decisions or hiring, they attend all public board meetings and are encouraged to share their opinions with the nine voting members of the board.

“We believe that students need to have a voice,” said Tyrone School Board Vice President Brian Bressler, “It gives [students] that recognition about what their concerns are.”

This program began during the 2012-2013 school year.  According to the pusblished board policy, the student representatives are to “act as intermediaries between the student body of the district and the Board. The representatives should convey the students’ concerns and opinions to the Board. The Board should also consult with the student representatives for first-hand input on facility and educational matters.”

The student representatives are expected to attend all scheduled board meetings, excluding those meetings classified as executive sessions. Seats at the board’s table are set aside for the student representatives.

The student representatives are nominated by a selection committee comprised of the principal, the dean of students, and a high school faculty member. The superintendent makes the final selection.  According to board policy, when selecting the representatives, the committee should “consider each student’s leadership abilities, communication skills, responsibility, discipline, and dedication. Outstanding students will be considered for this position.”

Putt and Butina chose to join the board to help make a difference in their school.

Both students are heavily involved in the school community.

In addition to being on the board, Putt is involved in POPs Extension, track and field, National Honor Society, student council, quiz league and he plays the piano.

“I believe that the bond between the community and the school district is crucial to the well being of our school tradition,” said Putt.

Butina is involved in the Drama Club, POPs Extension, Quiz League, Student Council, Prom Committee, Aevidum, Mock Trial, and National Honor Society.

“I chose to join the board because I thought that it would be a great opportunity to learn about our school and have an inside look of how the district runs. Having student representatives that sit on the school board is a rather uncommon opportunity in most districts, I wanted to take advantage,” said Butina.

“We don’t always get the information we need to be able to help,” said Bressler, “our student representatives are there to remind us that we are there for the students.”

Having students on the Board is imperative to help the school board be more interactive with the students and the school to run more successfully.