Posted: | September 19, 2018 09:14 AM |
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From: | Representative Peter Schweyer |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Fair Representation on CTE Joint Operating Committees |
Fair representation is a right for which Americans have fought since our nation’s founding. This fight has shifted governmental control out of the hands of wealthy landowners and into those of democratically-elected representatives. Under this system, the weight of a legislator’s vote was no longer determined by wealth; neither should this be the case for local governing bodies. Currently, career and technical school joint operating committees include at least one representing board member from each school district; additional school district representation is at the committee’s discretion. While some committees provide fair representation for each participating school district, others let a school district’s financial contribution, calculated by the its property values, determine how much of a say that district has in school matters, regardless of how many of its students make up the student body. This means that students from some school districts are not being fairly represented on their career and technical school’s governing body due to factors beyond the district’s control. This is why I am introducing legislation that requires career and technical school joint operating committees to have proportional representation based on student population rather than financial commitment. Please join me in returning fairness to the career and technical school governing process and ensuring that the voices of underrepresented students are heard by co-sponsoring this legislation. |