Let me start with a disclaimer: I’m not here to paint this district as bad — in fact, I’d argue it’s one of the best out there. However, being the best doesn’t preclude us from missteps. As someone who regularly tunes into PAUSD School Board meeting livestreams, I’ve grown accustomed to watching adults talk in echo chambers, digging in their heels against even the mildest suggestions of change. This resistance comes from various ideological viewpoints. Whether the debate is over advanced math pathways, Ethnic Studies or the intentions of individual trustees, the meetings often feel more like arenas than spaces for thoughtful decision-making. And honestly? It’s exhausting.
We talk a lot about improving student outcomes in this district, à la PAUSD Promise — in fact, the Board recently focused on student outcomes in considering their new Promise goals at their May 13 Board meeting. But while Board trustees and parents argue over politics, students like me are stuck wondering when we’ll actually become the priority. It’s frustrating to watch people who are supposed to support our education get caught up in power struggles and personal agendas. All the while, our needs — better mental health support, consistent leadership and stronger, more equitable academics — are left behind.
This isn’t just a feeling. It’s backed by data. A 2024 study by UCLA researchers found that school districts spent over $3.2 billion last year handling conflicts tied to controversial issues. That money could have funded crucial resources like additional counselors, mental health supports, new classes and more. Instead, it went toward legal fees, extra security and damage control.
Worse still, all this chaos affects our learning environment. Take the Schenectady City School District located in New York, for instance. Years of dysfunction and frequent superintendent changes, driven in part by board disagreements, led to a noticeable drop in student achievement — especially for Black students. Since 2013, fewer than 10% of Black fourth graders have earned a “proficient” grade on New York State Testing. When leadership is unstable, teachers are left without clear direction, staff morale drops and students lose the consistency we need to succeed. Thus, it should be clear by this point that school board infighting is detrimental to student outcomes.
But here’s the thing: it doesn’t have to be this way. A 2022 University of Connecticut study shows that when school boards, superintendents and communities work together — with a shared vision and open communication — student outcomes improve. In districts where leaders focus on collaboration instead of conflict, eighth-grade reading and math scores have been observed to go up. In our district, the same can happen — if and only if our district officials put aside their differences and focus on student outcomes.
We — parents, board trustees, and, most importantly, students — need to remember that schools don’t exist to host adult debates. They exist to teach kids and to prepare us as students for the future. I’m not saying disagreements will disappear: on the contrary, I’m glad they won’t. But I am saying that we need to choose our battles carefully and make sure they’re truly about us, not a political platform or ego.
We deserve better than dysfunction. We deserve leaders and community members who model the kind of cooperation and problem-solving they expect us to learn. Because at the end of the day, board battles were never part of the required curriculum. And they never should be.
The question that remains is: will we allow adult disagreements to continue overshadowing the very purpose of our schools, or will we rise to the occasion and create education environments where students truly come first?
