DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Students at a nearby high school held a special event on Nov. 1.
A ‘Meet the Candidates’ event brought together candidates running for Tipp City School Board and Tipp City Council to answer student-generated questions. Topics ranged from the role of board of education to how many banks there are.
One of the toughest topics was the lack of grocery store options.
“People think because we’re kids, we don’t really have serious questions to ask, but we care just as much about Tipp City as everyone else.” said Jack, a Tipp City student.
The Advanced Placement government and politics students sought support from local community members to formulate their questions.
“What does the community want to know,” said Jack. “He came in and he kind of worked with us and made them more streamlined, made sure there was no bias coming into them and made them truly objective, good questions.”
Many students will soon graduate and move on from the district. Helping their community stay informed was a key motivation in the creation of the forum.
“Even though a lot of us are going to be going off to college and other places like ultimately this is where your roots are. And if you can have like a strong community, I think that’s really important and something to be really valued,” said Mia, a Tipp City school student.
Candidates touched on some of the biggest issues facing the district and the city. Students stressed the importance of being informed when casting your vote.
“I think that public education matters,” said Mia. “I mean, we have a great school. We have so many great teachers, great principals, and overall it’s just important that we’re able to keep them here and on the school board. If they can address certain issues within the school systems, it will overall just be a better environment for everyone.”
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.
