Candidates back student panels, advisory committees to boost community voice

Candidates at the Student Advocacy Center forum offered multiple proposals to increase community voice in Ann Arbor Public Schools governance. "I will vote in favor of creating student representative panel to the school board to make sure students are engaged in decision‑making," said candidate Lyndon Dwell, who also pledged to support a community panel of parents and teachers and to revive a financial advisory committee that once existed in the district.

Several candidates advocated restoring citizen‑led budget steering committees and affinity groups, increasing multilingual outreach, and rotating board meetings into neighborhood schools to improve accessibility. Candidates emphasized accountability: advisory groups should receive follow‑up and formal channels so the board can explain how community input affected decisions. Organizers noted the forum’s questions were crowdsourced from students, educators and families and provided to candidates in advance.