18 Feb EdSource: Next Set of Paid West Contra Costa Student Trustees Sworn In

(Image courtesy of West Contra Costa Unified School District via Bay City News)

By Monica Velez
EdSource

Two West Contra Costa student board members were sworn in on Wednesday night, making them the next set of students in the district to be paid for their work.

Nikky Barron, a student at Richmond High School, and Jorge Espinoza Jr., a student at Middle College High School, will be student trustees for the second semester of the school year. Each term lasts one semester, and students are elected by their peers.

Espinoza was selected as a student trustee the previous semester, which was also the first time students were compensated for being on the board. West Contra Costa Unified School District is one of the few districts in California that pay student board members. Districts have moved to pay board members after the 2023 passage of Assembly Bill 275, a state law that allows districts to pay or offer course credits to student trustees.

In West Contra Costa, students are paid $150 for every board meeting they attend and receive elective course credits. At least one of the two student board members must be from a school with 60% of students receiving free or reduced lunch, which was an effort to ensure representation from schools in less affluent areas.