KENOSHA, Wis. — With the spring election just weeks away, a group of Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) students took matters into their own hands, hosting a youth-led school board candidate forum to press candidates on the issues that impact them every day.
The event, organized by six KUSD students, gave them the opportunity to ask tough questions on topics like school safety, curriculum, and district policies.
“This really equips us with who's in charge,” said student organizer Destiny Garcia. “We got to know who's in charge of our school decisions and the environment that we're in every day.”
The students moderated the discussion, challenging candidates to provide real solutions for the concerns they say often go unheard.
“There’s a lot of issues that need to be addressed,” said Lydia Orrick, one of the student moderators. “Students know the root cause of the issues, they know where they're coming from because they are experiencing that, and I feel that we as a society need to uplift our students more and more.”
Students asked tough questions and hope tonight's forum sparks action, especially after the failure of a $115 million referendum.
“We are experiencing it first-hand and we know what's going on. It's not like we're just drifting through it; we're paying attention to everything that's going on,” Orrick said.
While most of the students who organized the forum can’t vote yet, they said that doesn’t mean they don’t have a voice.
"The students are the ones that are being affected by these policies that the school board creates," said Anya Panchal, another student moderator.
With the KUSD school board election set for April 1, these students hope the forum will encourage more young people and parents to pay attention, ask questions, and get involved in the decisions shaping their education.
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