For the first time, St. Joseph Public Schools has a direct connection between its students and the school board.
St. Joseph High School junior Anecia Galvin officially became a member of the SJPS Board of Education on Monday, and will sit in on meetings at a non-voting member through the 2023-24 school year.
“We started to talk about the value of having a student to be part of our Board of Education as a non-voting board member who can learn about the democratic process, what the role of the board is and how that plays into our community and our schools – but also so that we can have a connection to the student body in a different way than we already do.”
After an application and interview process with several board members and SJHS Principal Greg Blomgren, Galvin was selected.
Galvin – a dual-enrolled Career and Technical Education student and competitive dancer –explained after Monday’s meeting why she wanted to join the board.
“Just knowing that there’s so much our students don’t know because its not readily available to them,” Galvin said. “Being able to move that information to them and also information from our school to the school board, it will just make it better for [the students].”
Galvin said the school’s news team will help distribute what she learns throughout the school. As for what she learned in her first meeting, Galvin said “We do a lot, and also our district spends a lot of money.”
Galvin took her ceremonial oath alongside board president Barry Conybeare and re-elected trustee Rick Dyer on Monday.
