Brian Harward staff writer
Board members Noah Margo and Howard Goldstein presented the goals and cost analysis of Measure BH to students at the high school on Wednesday, May 2. Measure BH, the nearly $400 million dollar plan to modernize the high school and parts of the other district schools, needs 55 percent of the community’s vote on June 5 to pass.
Student Board Member Jonathan Artal organized the presentation from the board members to interested students in order to drive up participation in the upcoming vote.
“The goal of our assembly is to inform students on the upcoming bond election and solicit their voice and input in the process. Student voice should be the driver of policy change in our district, but too often students are underrepresented in elections,” Artal said. “We hope that by publicizing among our 18-year-old students and also among our younger students who can speak with family members, we can improve student turnout for the bond vote and ensure that students, regardless of which way they vote, have a say in the outcome.”
Students were encouraged to attend by a group of history teachers who offered extra credit. AP Government teacher Catherine Pincu, who is offering extra credit for attendance, hopes that students will become active on the issue through this exposure.
“If students are exposed to it and actually go to the meeting, they might find out that they feel strongly about it, and then it’s more likely that they will be active about it,” Pincu said.
The presentation was given mainly by board member Noah Margo. He believes that this presentation to students will spark interest in the vote.
“We always take the opportunity to speak to bodies of people,” Margo said. “For this we’re not here representing either side of the campaign, we just want people to know what the measure entails and why it’s important.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC0s_nqpCpc&w=560&h=315]