Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Hands-On Lesson Takes Students Behind the Scenes : Government: Santa Clarita youths spend a day with city workers, capped with a mock council meeting.

The City Council election may be three months away, but a fresh set of faces were in the council chambers Tuesday voting on city issues.

They were some of the 43 teen-agers who went behind the scenes of local government via Santa Clarita’s Youth In Government program, shadowing city employees and helping them perform their daily duties. Activities culminated in a meeting by the student equivalent of the City Council in which they put knowledge from their hands-on lessons into practice.

During their council meeting, students proposed construction of a $212,000 teen center along Soledad Canyon Road to help youths face problems of peer pressure, boredom and substance abuse. They also suggested an economic stimulus package that would bring an ice-skating rink to Valencia.

Youth In Government has doubled in size since it began four years ago at the suggestion of City Manager George Caravalho and Public Works Director Jeff Kolin, who had seen similar events in other cities. Students are selected from schools in the William S. Hart Union High District who apply for the program.

“This is only a small part of what needs to take place in terms of educating (teens) about what goes on in government,” Caravalho said. He said he believes students enjoy the program because it gives them real work to perform for the city rather than concocted assignments.

For Sief Ascar, 16, participation meant spending the morning touring Santa Clarita construction sites and checking buildings to make sure they were safe for the public, weren’t wasting energy and had proper access for the handicapped.

“It was a fun experience,” said Ascar, a junior at Hart High School who was paired with building and safety official Ruben Barrera for the day. “People should try it even if they don’t want to get into government.”

Shayna Weddle, a 16-year-old senior at Hart High School, participated for a second consecutive year. After working as the student solid waste coordinator last year, she was “promoted” to serve as public works director this year.

“It’s crazy. I didn’t think I’d ever want to get involved in politics or government,” Weddle said. “It was absolutely great. You learn all the things that the city has to deal with the public doesn’t know about.”

Many students were surprised at the volume of work city employees have to do and council members must sift through.

“There’s an incredible amount of work they have to do in a short amount of time to prepare for a council meeting,” said Hans Yao, a 17-year-old Saugus High School senior who filled the shoes of Councilman Carl Boyer.

“All I did was organize things,” said Jon Santana, 17, a Hart High School senior. He accompanied Deputy City Clerk Geri Miller-Davis for the day, learning about election procedures and how much paperwork is necessary for a city to operate. “It’s not easy,” he added.

It was difficult to tell students from the city employees during the program. Students dressed formally, blending in with their municipal counterparts, and city employees appeared just as excited to participate in the program as the teen-agers.

“It’s an opportunity to give back to the community. We get a lot of support from the community for doing programs and projects and this is a chance to talk with the youth community,” said Johnathan Skinner, coordinator of the program for the city. “It’s a chance to show off.”