Four students were seated Monday as nonvoting members of the Lockport High School District 205 Board and its two committees, and immediately offered input about renovating the Central Campus.
Chelsea Osei and Victoria DalPonte, both seniors, are student members of the board. Akash Patel, a senior, is the student member of the board’s Finance and Facilities Committee, and McKenna Orrico, a senior, is the student member of the board’s Curriculum Committee.
Osei said the majority of students would like to see Central Campus, attended by freshmen, renovated. DalPonte said students know the difference between East and Central campuses because East Campus is more modern and has air conditioning, which improves the learning experience.
“We have a lot of access to devices that students at Central don’t,” DalPonte said. “I feel like, overall, it’s a lot more modern and we have more spaces for students to connect, especially in the hallways, for before school or after school.”
DalPonte said her parents went to Central Campus and she’d like to see her children go there.
Students that attend the district’s Lockport Academy, an alternative placement for students with individualized education program needs, and the Career and Community Connections, to help students with special needs transition to work post graduation, also attend Central Campus. Those students deserve a modern space to learn, DalPonte said.
Superintendent Robert McBride said the district’s architects presented officials with a floor plan earlier this month for renovating Central Campus, which opened in November 1909.
By October, McBride said, board members need to decided if they want to see Central Campus remain a school and, if so, decide between standard maintenance upkeep or a major renovation.
The October deadline is because large-scale renovations would require a referendum, McBride said.
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“Now is the time that a decision really needs to be made,” he said.
Board member Marty Boersma asked what the options are if the board votes against major renovations. McBride said the board would then have to make “more difficult choices.”
The board would have to decided if it wants to continue approving between $500,000 and $1 million annually for needed upkeep, McBride said. The building would likely continue degrading, he said, which would then force the board to consider split schedules to house all students at East Campus.
The board could consider a new school building, McBride said, but the district asked voters twice to support a new school about a decade ago and both referendums failed. The district’s population isn’t growing, he said, so it would be hard to justify building new.
Even if voters approved a new school, McBride said the board would have to decide what to do with Central Campus, because it would still be a district building. Building maintenance costs would make it hard for the district to pay for or sell, McBride said, so the district would likely demolish the campus if it no longer was a school.
“There are different pathways,” McBride said.
The idea for student board members came in November 2022, when McBride said he and the board members went to a conference and heard about a school board with student members. They liked the idea, he said, but decided to wait until after the April election to begin the process.
In May, 53 students applied to be student board members, McBride said, and 12 finalists were identified for interviews, which took place in July with the board members.
The board selected four students because they were impressed with the candidates, McBride said. The students will give input on the topics the board and its committees discuss, but they won’t be able to vote, he said.
“It’s a reminder that everything we do is for students,” McBride said.
Osei said that since freshman year she’s been a part of the school’s Student Equity Action Committee, and she’s been passionate about amplifying student voices, particularly minority students.
“I thought giving a voice on the board is a great way to amplify youth voices at a loud rate, and also working with the board members making sure that all our school students are represented equally,” Osei said.
DalPonte said amid the pandemic she watched the school board meetings to stay informed about what choices the board was making about masks or e-learning. As she watched, DalPonte said what appealed to her was the government aspect of the board.
“I know that students can sit in and share their comments publicly because it’s a public meeting, but for a student to have a spot on the board and be able to voice everybody’s opinion at school, it’s really important,” DalPonte said.