There’s a new Boise school trustee, and he’s 18
BOISE — Shiva Rajbhandari got home from his election night party last week and put on “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
The classic John Hughes teen movie, starring Matthew Broderick, was supposed to be a distraction for Rajbhandari, 18, as he sat at his house with friends, family and supporters waiting to see whether he would be elected as the first Boise student to ever serve on the district’s school board.
He got more restless as the night progressed, and eventually gave up on the movie and turned instead to watch the district’s live feed of the ballot counting. When the final results were posted at around 1 a.m., he had won by nearly 2,500 votes over the incumbent, Steve Schmidt.
“We just went crazy when the results came in,” he told the Idaho Statesman by phone. “I woke up feeling very honored and very, very lucky to have the trust of the Boise School District voters, and I’m determined to show what students can bring to the table when we’re given a seat.”
Rajbhandari is the first student elected to the Boise school board, according to the district’s records. And he could be the first student ever elected to a school board in all of Idaho.
Katie Drum, spokesperson from the Idaho School Boards Association, said the organization has no knowledge or records of a student being elected to an Idaho school board.
The organization has received inquiries from schools boards looking to add a student delegate role, but those positions can often come with limitations, including that they can’t vote on board decisions or access confidential records.
Boise board members said they don’t expect having a student trustee will significantly change the dynamics on the board. They said that they looked forward to working with Rajbhandari and that he would be treated the same as anyone else chosen by voters.
Rajbhandari, who was elected to a two-year term, said he’s excited to bring a student voice to the board and help represent the student body. Key issues in his platform included mental health, climate change and extremism. And he said he’s ready to work with the current trustees, along with students and teachers across the district, to address some of the challenges in schools.
Trustees acknowledge learning process for Rajbhandari
Rajbhandari was the only candidate who defeated an incumbent in the election Sept. 6, so he will be the only new member joining the board next week.
Trustees said Rajbhandari’s election will be a great opportunity to add new skills and viewpoints to the board.
“Everybody brings something to the board,” said Board President Dave Wagers, who won his election for another six-year term.
Boards do well when they have diversity — members with different backgrounds and experiences, Trustee Andy Hawes said.
“In this case, I think it’s a good thing to have a student — especially students, because they’re one of the main stakeholders in Boise public schools,” he said.
But trustees also acknowledged it will be a learning process, as it would be for any new board member.
Trustee Beth Oppenheimer, who has a student in the district, said that as both a mom and a trustee, she often compartmentalizes. When she goes to her daughter’s school, she goes as parent, not as a trustee.
“When Shiva is at school, he’s a student. He’s not a trustee,” she said. “And so I think trying to balance that and navigate that might take a little bit of time.”
The school district is also large and complex, and it takes years to fully understand how every piece works and how every decision is made, trustees said.
Trustee Nancy Gregory described it as a bit of “rude awakening” for newly elected trustees when they learn about the complexities. Creating change isn’t often as simple as it may seem to the public, she said. But Rajbhandari will go through the same training processes to get up to speed on the role of trustees as any other board member would.
“Pretty soon you get a handle on the complexity of board governance,” she said, “and you become part of the team and everyone has their voice.”
Rajbhandari’s election showed voters had confidence in him, Hawes said, and he has confidence in the voters’ decision.
“I don’t really think it’s going to change the dynamics that much,” Hawes said. “I don’t think … having a student on there should or will be any different than having any other member on the board.”
Schmidt, who was appointed to the board last fall and lost his reelection campaign to Rajbhandari, described the student as an “energized, enthusiastic and motivated individual” who is socially and civically minded, but he said he thinks people at times misunderstand the role of a trustee.
“I think it will be a time for Shiva to realize that this isn’t a platform for activism,” he told the Statesman the day after the election. “This is a platform for understanding big issues and how they affect everybody, regardless of your own personal opinions.”
‘It’s always scary’ being the first
Rajbhandari said it’s humbling to be the first student elected to the role, but he’s determined to show student representation is important and that students can do great things.
“It’s always scary being the first to do something. It’s scary having to prove, not just yourself, but prove the concept of an entire generation and what representation means for students,” he said. “I’m confident that I can do a really good job on the board.”
Rajbhandari will graduate at the end of this school year, but he said he plans to serve his full two-year term unless the board sets up a new process for students. Ideally, he said, he’d like a current student to serve on the board in his place after he graduates.
To people who have concerns or doubts about whether a student can successfully serve on the board, Rajbhandari said, “watch me.”
“The only thing that separates me from every other trustee on board is that I have boots on the ground in the classroom every day,” he said. “And I don’t see that as a detractor in any way. And I find it hard to believe that anyone does.”
Student advisory committee expected to start
The district will also soon have another way to hear from more students. Last spring, the board approved the creation of a student advisory committee, which is expected to include trustees and representatives from each of the district’s high schools.
The committee was formed after Lizzy Duke-Moe, a Boise High senior at the time, applied to serve on the board following a trustee’s resignation.
Duke-Moe wasn’t selected for the role, but she worked with other trustees to create the committee so students could have more of a say on the board.
“It really opened our eyes to say, we could probably do a better job of listening to students and getting their perspective,” Oppenheimer said. “They’re the ones that are in the classroom.”
Could a student board position become permanent?
Adding a student position to the Boise school board permanently would require changing the district’s charter, which lays out when the district will have its school board elections and who will make up the school board.
The charter also says trustees must be 18, which means the vast majority of students are not eligible to run for the role like Rajbhandari, who turned 18 at the end of August.
“We don’t look at changing the charter very much at all,” Wagers said. “This will be a good test run to see if it’s something that adds tons of value. … I’m always in favor of looking at anything that will make our school district be better.”
Gregory said she thinks at this point, if another student wanted to serve on the board, it would need to be individually driven. She said she doesn’t see the board “stepping outside the bounds of the charter.”
It’s likely too soon to tell what the future holds in terms of student representation, but the advisory committee will help more students from across the district make their voices heard moving forward, Oppenheimer said.
The board also hears from students in a variety of different ways, including through reports from student governments, focus groups and surveys.
“There will always be an avenue for student engagement,” Gregory said.
