During Thursday’s Pearl River County School Board meeting, the Board of Trustees considered adding a student position to act as a representative of the district.

“We want the students’ voices to be heard. Their needs and education is important to us and we want them to know that,” Board member Elaine Voss said.

The School Board Student Representative would be the official title of the position, which will be held by the Pearl River Central High School Student Council President.

Board of Trustees President Jeremy Weir questioned if the election for the student council president was more of a popularity vote than one for the most qualified person for the job. However, PRCHS Principal Stacy Baudoin reassured Weir that that was not the case.

“Our students do a good job of taking the election and the rest of the process seriously. I am comfortable with saying that it is not a popularity contest,” Baudoin said.

The position requires the student representative to travel with Superintendent Alan Lumpkin to meet with each of the district’s school councils to understand the needs of each school.

The student representative would then be given a tab on monthly agendas the Board issues for each meeting, which will give the student a chance to present a monthly report on each school in the district.

“We are well represented by our school governments. It would amaze anyone to hear the intellectual conversations that go on during the PRCLE school council meetings, for example. I am excited to have a student’s voice heard at our meetings,” Lumpkin said.

The Board members discussed the positive aspects of having a student representative as part of the Board. That representative would gain experience into how a school board functions and how other how local governments work together to achieve goals.

“We are here to please the kids and their needs and we feel this is the best way to let their voices be heard,” Voss said.

Creation of the position was approved by the Board. The policies and guidelines for the student representative will be finalized at a later date.