Garfield students may not have the right to vote, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care about the upcoming election. On September 23, students from Garfield and other Seattle schools participated in a School Board Youth Forum at the Seattle Center, hosted by the Youth Involvement Network, The Vera Project, Garfield Teen Life Center, Seattle Young People’s Project, and Student Voices.

The school board is far more influential than many young people realize, as they are responsible for district-wide policy, including student distribution among local schools and hiring the superintendent. At the forum, Seattle area middle and high school students had the opportunity to question the eight candidates vying for seats in districts one, two, three, and six. Questions were directed to the two candidates running for each district, who responded with brief replies.

Issues brought up at the forum varied a great deal, ranging from the importance of specialized after-school programs, such as debate, to the timing of the superintendent selection. Students also questioned the candidates about the prioritizing of funding for problems such as teacher distribution and spending on supplies and books. Other concerns included funding for ESL and literacy programs, youth involvement in the arts, and school safety.

“Lots of students got to ask questions,” said candidate Sally Soriano. “These are all [the issues] you’ve heard over the past year, all in one night.”

The forum had a challenging tone toward the incumbents, reflecting citywide concerns about the school board’s past policies and budgeting decisions. Past controversial decisions include the renewal of advertising contracts with Coca-Cola and the reformatting of the student formula that controls budgets, reducing high schools’ budgets by hundreds of thousands of dollars each. Students at the forum questioned strategies on raising funds and deciding priorities within the budget.

After questioning, candidates were given time for opening and closing statements. Besides describing their own experience and backgrounds, they talked about their concerns and goals. The incumbents argued for continuity and experience, while the other candidates talked about the need for change. Other key themes they brought up included closing the achievement gap and balancing the budget.

“A lot of the candidates were strong in what they believed in,” said Rainier Beach senior class president Ayana Patton, who came to the forum to voice her concerns about lack of teachers and course selection at her school. Other students and observers felt that they had learned a lot about the candidates from the forum.

“It was a good thing for youth to come to, to show that the kids’ voices can rise up too,” said Garfield junior Rex Prasad.

After the forum, students participated in a mock vote for the four school board positions.

On September 29, a similar forum was held in Garfield’s own Teen Life Center, focusing on this year’s Seattle City Council candidates.