West Valley High School hosts yearly school board candidate forum

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - West Valley High School hosted those running for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board Thursday for its annual candidate forum.

Students generated each of the questions used in the forum, which covered a range of topics including bullying, book bans, religion in schools and what should go into school lunches.

Candidates also participated in a lightning round, answering “yes” or “no” to rapid-fire questions delivered by students.

Junior Amanda Seguinot-Lamboy was tasked with greeting the candidates as they came into the building and helping set things up for the forum.

While the leadership role Seguinot-Lamboy took on for the event “made me kind of nervous,” ultimately, she found the event fun and thought it went well.

“You get to meet different people for this, like, for example, doing this interview, you get to meet the school board members, you get to help with the teachers, and it’s just a lot of fun helping, knowing that you can help out with the community in some way,” Seguinot-Lamboy said.

For fellow junior Phoebe Wooller, this year marks the first year of direct involvement, but not her first time attending.

“Some of the candidates are the same, so, you know, they’re making the same jokes, making the same, similar comments. I thought this year was very interesting,” Wooller said. “I found it interesting the way some of the candidates brought up political matters, which I think directly connects to some of the politics that we, you know, see at home on our televisions or in the news.”

She argued that “there’s a lot of non-answers” at the forum, saying, “A question will be like, ‘What will you do?’ and they’ll say, ‘Yes, I support this policy,’ or like, ‘I totally think this is a great idea and I agree,’ but then they don’t really say what they’ll directly do, and a lot of times, as somebody who writes questions, I think what we want to know is like, ‘What plans do you have? What policies are you planning to put in place?’”

Despite this, Wooller said the event allows students to get involved in their local politics and help them to see the importance of doing so.

Also a junior, Hazel Sutton said students have a few weeks to prepare their questions for the event, although they are not all chosen.

Sutton said she plans to be involved next year, explaining, “I feel like it gives students an opportunity to become part of the voting, or at least to become part of the community and state their voices even if they can’t vote.”

When asked the question “If elected, what will you do to make sure every student feels they belong in our schools without feeling they need to change who they are,” Seat E incumbent Tim Doran said all are welcome in district schools.

“It is key to what we do in education to work as a society, to learn to be civil with each other, to respect each other and to have the diversity that enriches each one of our experiences,” he added.

Doran’s opponent Sally Gant, meanwhile, said, “I think you’re going to kick me off the stage here after I finish my sentence here, which is how I actually understand the question you just asked is that you really want to know what I think about the gay agenda. Why don’t you just ask me that?”

This response prompted a vocal reaction from the students in attendance before History Teacher Heather Damario admonished Gant for attacking the student asking the question.

“They wrote exactly what they wanted to say, and there wasn’t anything associated with, anything that they wanted to say was in the question.... What we’re not going to do is attack students here today. Thank you,” Damario said, followed by cheers from the audience.

“It’s the first year that I’ve seen a, a candidate directly kind of, I guess, attack a student who was asking a question,” Wooller later said.

Seat F candidate Jaimee Coon emphasized the importance of belonging to growth and self-esteem.

“Unity to a common goal, a common task, devotion to a common purpose is what creates a sense of belonging, and if elected, my commitment to belonging would focus first on unity as a school community,” she said.

Robert Herrick, also running for seat F, said the question “is more challenging to address than it at first may seem” because people hold different views that are central to their “core being.”

“It’s important to note that tolerance, acceptance, and kindness does not necessarily mean agreement. It doesn’t require that,” he said. “So first off, the school board has to set the tone by not intentionally ratcheting up attention on issues.”

Incumbent Bobby Burgess, running against Herrick and Coon, discussed the role of representation in creating a feeling of belonging.

“As board members, we can lead by examples by working as a team towards common goals and encouraging this culture of belonging and respect in the district,” Burgess explained. “One way we do that is through our resolutions honoring the heritage, culture, and history of various demographics, including Alaska Native and American Indian Heritage Month, Black History Month, LGBTQ History Month, and several more.”

Bridger Terra, running for open seat G, said that each student should be proud to be a member of their school’s identity.

“Right now, people are reinventing themselves in high school, and however you invent yourself, you should be basing it on your character of your person. You should be basing it on the merits of what you can achieve and your abilities that you are God-given,” he added.

Also running for the open seat, Sean Holland argued that belonging is necessary for education.

“One cannot learn if they don’t have psychological safety, emotional safety, and a sense that they are the person that they are in the place that, that learning is occurring,” Holland said. “The idea that you have to change who you are to fit into a school is, I think that’s a, I hope that’s a relic of the past.”

A video of the entire event is available on the school district’s YouTube page.

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