San Ramon Student Joins Contra Costa School Board

SAN RAMON, CA — Dougherty Valley High School junior Ishaan Savla was named the newest student board member of the Contra Costa County Board of Education for the 2024-25 school year. Savla joins Luke Wilson of El Cerrito High School as the newest student representatives of the board.

The upcoming school year will be the second year that the CCOE Board has included student members. In September 2023, Daphne Milich of Monte Vista High School joined as the first student member. Student members participate in board meetings, offer insights on issues affecting students, and collaborate with other board members to shape educational policy. Student board members have a preferential vote, meaning they can express their preference on a motion before the vote, but this will not count toward the official vote tally.

Savla and Wilson were chosen from 35 applicants representing eight school districts and 11 high schools. Savla serves as the Governmental Affairs and Policy Director for the Bay Area at the California Association of Student Councils; a policy associate with California’s Voters of Tomorrow, and has worked as a co-sponsor of state legislation ike Senate Bill 1391, which aims to increase accessibility to California’s teacher grant programs and training pipelines. He also serves on the San Ramon Teen Council, and a member of the leadership program at Dougherty Valley High School.

“I am excited to begin this journey as a student member of the county’s Board of Education,” Savla said in a statement to SRVUSD. “It means a lot to represent my peers from different backgrounds and parts of Contra Costa County. As a student board member, I aim to connect with students of special needs and forge more sister-school partnerships where student-led clubs and organizations bridge peers across the 19 cities. I want to ensure that students' voices are present in the conversation about educational policies and priorities.”

His first meeting will take place on Aug. 14.