CONEJO VALLEY : School Board’s 1st Student Vote Cast

For a historic first vote, it was entirely routine--Westlake High School senior Scott Nussbaum voted along with the Conejo Valley school board to approve the minutes of the last meeting.

But as the board’s first student representative, Scott is looking forward to delving into more complex issues.

“It’s a start,” he said after his first meeting Thursday. “I don’t know how involved students should be in district decisions--right now, this is enough.”

Instead of sitting with his fellow students in the audience, the 17-year-old sat alongside four trustees and cast the first student advisory vote ever “ayed” in the Conejo Valley Unified School District.

Scott is one of four students who share a Board of Education seat this school year. They will cast non-binding advisory votes on all public matters.

“It’s the first acceptance of a student’s opinion by the school district,” Scott said. “If the students have an opinion, it won’t be brushed under the carpet.”

Having a new member on the dais will take some getting used to for board President Dolores Didio, who must remember to seek the student vote before trustees take a ballot on an issue.

“It’s going to be new for all of us,” she said.

Previously, student representatives from each of the district’s four high schools presented brief reports on campus events at the beginning of each board meeting. They did not cast votes or participate in board discussions.

But under state law, student representatives must be allowed to cast advisory votes if at least 500 students sign a petition supporting the idea. In June, a Thousand Oaks High School student presented the board with a petition carrying the necessary number of signatures.

For this school year, Brandon Michael of Conejo Valley High School, Katie Petrick of Newbury Park High School, Lorrie Houchin of Thousand Oaks High School and Scott will take turns sitting and voting with the board members.