Part of the Solution : Boy Who Brought Brass Knuckles to Class Matures Into School Board Adviser

Following the lead of school trustees across the state, the Ventura County Board of Education has begun to appoint student representatives to give youths a voice on the board.

But the first youth named to the new position breaks the mold of the typical student school board member.

Pete Roina, who took his seat on the county school board Monday, wears his shoulder-length hair in a ponytail with the sides of his head shaved. He prefers baggy knee-length Army fatigues to slacks and stretches long white socks above his high-top, black leather boots.

Not only does he look different than the typical clean-cut students appointed to school boards, the 16-year-old has had a more troubled past than many youths honored with such leadership roles.

By the time he was 13, Pete said, he had been arrested twice, was using alcohol and drugs and had caused so many problems at his Santa Paula school that officials finally asked him not to return.

He enrolled at Gateway Community School in Camarillo, a continuation school run by the county Superintendent of Schools for students who have flunked out, been kicked out or been unable to adjust to regular schools.

Besides Gateway, the county runs schools for youths who are in jail or who attend special-education programs.

And Pete will represent all 3,600 of these students at the county-run schools on the school board.

His appointment to the post marks a sharp change from the days when Pete was best known as a troublemaker.

Between the ages of about 9 and 13, he said, he was constantly having difficulties in school and with the police. Arrested once for stealing money from his mother and another time for carrying brass knuckles to school, he said he was put on probation until he was 21 but expects soon to have the probation terminated because of good behavior.

Pete said he has given up alcohol and drugs. He has earned enough school credits to enroll in a regular high school in Santa Paula next January. And he has emerged as a school leader, serving both on the student council and on committees with school staff.

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Although Pete attributes his turnaround mainly to the support of his mother and Gateway, he also said his behavior problems seemed to lessen as he matured.

“A lot of it was growing up,” he said. “I grew out of it.”

As Gateway Assistant Principal Jeanne Dukes said: “He has just crossed the fence from being a problem at school to being a solution at school.”

Dukes added that Pete’s past troubles may help rather than hinder his work as a student board member, giving him insights into the difficulties that many young people face.

“He can speak for the masses of kids,” she said.

Indeed, Pete’s fellow students at Gateway said one reason they accept him as a leader is that they know he is not afraid to speak his mind or stick up for his classmates’ point of view.

Last year, at Pete’s urging, Gateway organized a daily all-school break so students--who work mainly in independent study or small groups--would have a chance to socialize and get to know each other.

Pete acted as disc jockey during the break periods, selecting music he thought his classmates would enjoy.

“He will, like, speak for us,” 16-year-old Eddie Soto said. “He’s ready to speak his opinion.”

And that is what school board members say they want.

Like student representatives on most school boards, Pete will be unable to vote but free to join in discussions of matters that pertain to students.

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Hearing from a student representative, Board President John McGarry said, “is a chance to give the board some insight.”

“We thought that it would constantly help us as board members to be focused on why they’re there,” McGarry said. “We sometimes get sidetracked. If you’re serving on a board of education, if you lose sight that you’re there for children, you’ve really lost sight of what you’re there to do.”