The Board of Education is dedicated to improving education for students across the district, but lack of communication with students can leave a broken link. To close this gap, senior Sean Stiles and junior Riley Shegos have been selected as student representatives to the Board of Education.

“I am a junior representative on the Fenton School Board,” Shegos said. “Which means that I, along with the senior representative, bring up the issues in the school regarding the students and keep the board up to date with what’s going on.”

In order to bring student issues and opinions to the attention of the board, the student representatives attend board meetings.

“I attend all board meetings. I really enjoy doing it because I get to hear more about my school and community,” Stiles said. “I encourage it because it is very intriguing and gets you very involved in the school and community, plus it looks great on a college application.”

Student representatives can help board members understand what students feel is important.

“We are here to serve our students,” Superintendent Adam Hartley said. “Every decision that is made, we must take the student experience here at Fenton Area Public Schools (FAPS) into consideration.”

After Stiles’ graduation, a junior representative replacement will be necessary.

“I like it a lot because it lets me hear and learn about how the rules of the school are applied,” Shegos said. “How everything we’re doing in school is actually for a reason. Because I am the junior rep I am automatically transferred to the senior rep; but even if I wasn’t, I would definitely choose it again.”

Student representatives and board members alike encourage students to apply for the opening position.

“Any opportunity to have your voice heard and to represent your peers is a great way to get involved and build leadership skills, We want our students to take on challenging tasks and opportunities,” Hartley said. “The FHS admin chooses which applications to send to a committee of three Board members, and the Superintendent makes the final decision by interviewing the candidates.”

Hartley explains that it is beneficial for applicants to have leadership skills and be informed with board decisions. Anyone interested can find an application in the main office.