BOARDMAN — A 2018 graduate of Boardman HIgh School wants to use his recent experiences as a student in Boardman schools to bring a younger voice to the board of education.

But the two men he is running against say while Matthew Ellis’ venture into public office at a young age is a respectable endeavor, the district needs people with more experience.

Voters Nov. 5 will have the chance to select two of three candidates: Ellis, 19, running against incumbents Jeff Barone, 54, and Frank Zetts, 59. Both Barone, a financial adviser, and Zetts, a campaign consultant and a fuel purchasing consultant for trucking companies, have been on the board since 2016.

Ellis is studying philosophy and theater at Youngstown State University and said one of the first things he would change is to add a non-voting student representative to the school board.

“It would be a very easy way — that would cost no money — to make sure the student body has a voice on what goes on in the school,” Ellis said, adding that decisions of the school board may be easier to implement if the students know they have a voice when rules are being formed.

Barone said one of Ellis’ examples of a scenario where that may have been helpful — the decision to no longer allow students to bring their book bags into the classroom — was a safety and security issue that the board made in consideration of the students and teachers at risk of tripping over bags piled around a classroom.

“Students want what they want because they are used to doing things a certain way, but the board has to make decisions for the good of the district,” Barone said.

Zetts said he encourages students, and other members of the public, to attend and participate in school board meetings to stay informed.

“Sometimes the public is misinformed on what the administration actually does when we push the central office in directions. We see, with concern, any public backlash, but we encourage student participation and we will work to engage students during the planning of our 10-year plan,” Zetts said.

Along with Zetts, Barone said the school district’s upcoming project — writing a 10-year plan — will engage not only students, but parents, teachers and other stakeholders.

Members of the public should participate in the planning meetings, Barone said.

Zetts and Barone said they worked together, along with others, to close one of four elementary schools in order to save the district about $500,000 a year, while preserving many jobs. It should have been done years before that, Barone said.

The district’s plan should have a path forward for replacing the centennial intermediate school building, Zetts said.

Zetts said the board has board has been successful in finding creative ways to keep the school’s programs funded, consolidating the elementary school and saved about $150,000 by eliminating the business manager position.

Both Barone and Zetts said they would work to be stewards of the district’s money in a way that didn’t result in any new levies.

Ellis said he feels fiscal responsibility is “of the utmost concern.”

“I believe I am capable of reading contracts and understanding the budget issues. I may not understand everything immediately, but I will discuss it with experts. We can’t just rely on our own knowledge. I will go through everything with a fine-toothed comb and if I don’t understand something I will look it up,” Ellis said.

Ellis said he would also like to tackle the weaknesses listed in the state report card for the district. Barone said the 10-year plan will examine the district’s report card and work on solutions. He invited Ellis to work on the issue together, no matter the result of the election.

rfox@tribtoday.com