With the school board election race heating up, one Paly student has front row seats to the ins-and-outs of city politics.
That student is Andy Palmer, the latest student school board representative who is a voice for students of Palo Alto High School and other schools in the Palo Alto Unified School District.

Palmer, who attends all school board meetings and sits on the board, has numerous responsibilities including being an essential channel through which students can voice their concerns directly to the school board.

"I think it’s easier for students to come to me with concerns that they wish to be brought up. The school board itself can be pretty intimidating, but I’m just a regular guy," Palmer said.

Palmer sits on the board and presents a weekly update of issues facing the student body ranging from athletics to recent cultural events and other problems. A recent focus of Palmer’s reports has been the delayed locker instillations and the hardship it has been causing the students of Palo Alto High School.

Following his weekly update, he listens to all the content in the three hour long school board meetings and prepares a report for his colleagues at the weekly student council meetings. He often interjects comments on issues he feels have direct relevance to the student community and even votes on selected issues.

A former Paly student, Elizabeth Falcon, helped Palmer decide to choose the position he currently holds. "(Elizabeth) was on the school board last year," Palmer said, "We were on committees together and I asked her about it. She told me it was a great experience and that’s how I got involved with the program."
Palmer, a natural politician, has been interested in school politics for as long as there have been elected positions to run for.

"Basically I became involved in student government because I wanted to give my say in order to make a difference in people’s lives at school," Palmer said, "I was looking for positions of power so that people of higher authority would listen to what I had to say. I came to realize that the place where I would have the most impact was as a member of the school board itself."
The student school board representative position, founded several years ago, was started to get students involved in the entire electoral process. "The purpose of the program is to get students involved in the process," student activities director Joann Vaars said.

Palmer is trying to find new ways to branch out to the student population. "The student government and I are always trying to come up with new ways that we can reach the student population," Palmer said, "I think this is a very successful one."
The position currently held by Palmer an extension of multiple efforts made by the district and city to involve teens and other students in the decision making process Peter Ahn, the president of the Palo Alto Youth Council and a current senior at Palo Alto High School, attests to this trend.

"The city is always trying to reach out to teens," Ahn said, "This youth council was created as a vehicle for brining the decision making process closer to those whom it effects, specifically the youth population. I think what Andy is doing is great."

Palmer’s position involves a sizeable amount of time outside of school in all the preparation, reporting, and meetings he must attend to meet his responsibilities of the position in which he currently resides. "It takes time," Palmer says, "I spend three hours bi-weekly at meetings, plus the time it take me to prepare my reports and present it to the boards. In addition I gather information from the student body for my report to the board. Then I present my findings and discussions with the board back to my friends at in the student council and student body. But I enjoy every minute."

In addition to strict business, the members of the board have been very welcoming and cordial to Palmer. "They’ve all been really welcoming," Palmer said.

But, according to Palmer, one member in particular has been particularly outgoing. "If anyone did a little extra to make me feel welcome it was (board member) John Toumy. He makes it more comfortable, tells little jokes, just loosens it up and helps me open up at the meetings," Palmer said, adding quickly, "but they’ve all been really helpful."

Drawing on wisdom from the previous student school board representative, Elizabeth Falcon, Palmer is reminded of the importance of his continually demanding positions. "She told me that everything I say to the board, they will absorb," Palmer said, "They take it very seriously because it’s practically one of the only student perspectives they really get on a regular basis. That means a lot to me."