Meet Chloe Herdman, the Student Moderating the October 12th School Board Candidate Forum

@Chloe Herdman is a senior at @Casa Grande High School and this year's student board member for Petaluma City Schools, a one year term she is serving for the first time. Tonight she moderates a forum for the candidates running to join the board she currently serves on. I called her this afternoon. She told me she had her college application essays open on her computer while we talked.

Have you moderated a forum before?

"I have not actually. This is my first year on the board. It's a one year term. And last year I didn't run for the position. So this is my first time getting this opportunity. And I'm really excited about it."

Where did your questions come from?

Her AP Government class. She asked her teacher if she could poll the room, then turned what students said into formal questions and sent them to her co-moderator for the forum, Pamela Granger.

"These board members are gonna be representing us, our interests, putting forward policies that are really important for how our school's going to be regulated. So I had students tell me the issues that were most important to them, and then I wrote those up into official questions."

Six of tonight's questions came out of that class.

Are you nervous?

"I'm definitely nervous to be moderating a big event like this. It's my first time. I'm a little scared, but I think it's going to go well."

What calms her about public speaking is the musical theater she does outside of school.

"I memorize a lot of lines and songs and dances and stuff, and I perform very frequently. So I've gotten to have that opportunity to wash away a lot of stage fright."

Who is coming tonight?

Two of the candidates, @Laura Holmes and @Sarah Seitchik Sebastian. Chloe says the other three candidate, John La Bare, John Garcia and Brianne Balzarini,  are out of town. She has met Sarah before, because she went to elementary and middle school with Sarah's son. She and Laura Holmes have been emailing but have not met in person. As far as she knows there is no second forum, and she is not certain she will get to speak with the other three before the election.

What do you want Petalumans to know?

"Just keep in mind that a lot of these elections are going to directly affect how our education system functions for a while, especially because we've recently gone through six million dollars in budget cuts. So a lot of these policies and efforts that these candidates want to put forward will affect what opportunities our students have, what classes, what extracurriculars, and how our teachers are funded."

The seats are for four-year terms.

About Chloe

Chloe moved to Petaluma at age three with her family, natives of Kansas City. She attended @Mary Collins School at Cherry Valley  from fourth through eighth grade and has been a Casa student all four years.

"I haven't had another public school experience, but I don't think I could have had a better one than Casa."

Casa feeds into American Legion Auxiliary California Girls State, where she spent a week building a mock government with several hundred other high school students.

"I've gotten a lot of really awesome opportunities because of PCS, and I really want to see those opportunities extended to more students."

Chloe is applying early decision to Brown and plans to major in political science.

"It's been my dream career field for a long time now."

Thank you @Chloe Herdman, and good luck tonight! For background on the race, Meet Your Petaluma School Boards and the data dashboard at petalumaschools.com are both up.

♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️

📷 : courtesy of Chloe Herdman

@Chloe Herdman is a senior at @Casa Grande High School and this year's student board member for Petaluma City Schools, a one year term she is serving for the first time. Tonight she moderates a forum for the candidates running to join the board she currently serves on. I called her this afternoon. She told me she had her college application essays open on her computer while we talked. Have you moderated a forum before? "I have not actually. This is my first year on the board. It's a one year term. And last year I didn't run for the position. So this is my first time getting this opportunity. And I'm really excited about it." Where did your questions come from? Her AP Government class. She asked her teacher if she could poll the room, then turned what students said into formal questions and sent them to her co-moderator for the forum, Pamela Granger. "These board members are gonna be representing us, our interests, putting forward policies that are really important for how our school's going to be regulated. So I had students tell me the issues that were most important to them, and then I wrote those up into official questions." Six of tonight's questions came out of that class. Are you nervous? "I'm definitely nervous to be moderating a big event like this. It's my first time. I'm a little scared, but I think it's going to go well." What calms her about public speaking is the musical theater she does outside of school. "I memorize a lot of lines and songs and dances and stuff, and I perform very frequently. So I've gotten to have that opportunity to wash away a lot of stage fright." Who is coming tonight? Two of the candidates, @Laura Holmes and @Sarah Seitchik Sebastian. Chloe says the other three candidate, John La Bare, John Garcia and Brianne Balzarini, are out of town. She has met Sarah before, because she went to elementary and middle school with Sarah's son. She and Laura Holmes have been emailing but have not met in person. As far as she knows there is no second forum, and she is not certain she will get to speak with the other three before the election. What do you want Petalumans to know? "Just keep in mind that a lot of these elections are going to directly affect how our education system functions for a while, especially because we've recently gone through six million dollars in budget cuts. So a lot of these policies and efforts that these candidates want to put forward will affect what opportunities our students have, what classes, what extracurriculars, and how our teachers are funded." The seats are for four-year terms. About Chloe Chloe moved to Petaluma at age three with her family, natives of Kansas City. She attended @Mary Collins School at Cherry Valley from fourth through eighth grade and has been a Casa student all four years. "I haven't had another public school experience, but I don't think I could have had a better one than Casa." Casa feeds into American Legion Auxiliary California Girls State, where she spent a week building a mock government with several hundred other high school students. "I've gotten a lot of really awesome opportunities because of PCS, and I really want to see those opportunities extended to more students." Chloe is applying early decision to Brown and plans to major in political science. "It's been my dream career field for a long time now." Thank you @Chloe Herdman, and good luck tonight! For background on the race, Meet Your Petaluma School Boards and the data dashboard at petalumaschools.com are both up. ♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️ 📷 : courtesy of Chloe Herdman