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Fairfax County School Board members are considering whether one student representative is enough to convey the views of more than 180,000 students.

The idea remains exploratory. During a Tuesday, Feb. 11 meeting, the board’s public engagement committee discussed expanding student representation but showed no urgency to adopt a specific proposal.

“I don’t know that yet I’m convinced this is the solution,” Hunter Mill District representative Melanie Meren said.

Meren and Franconia District representative Marcia St. John-Cunning recently participated in a Virginia School Boards Association program examining how other localities include students on their boards.

“It was very informative and very interesting to see what is done in other jurisdictions,” said St. John-Cunning, who chairs the committee.

Fairfax County Public Schools added a student representative to the board in the 1960s. The position initially carried limited voting authority, but that power was removed in the 1970s.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology student Megan Sawant currently holds the role. She is the 54th student representative to serve.

Each April, the countywide Student Advisory Council elects a representative for the following school year.

Northern Virginia school systems take different approaches. Alexandria has three student representatives, while Prince William County has two plus an alternate. Loudoun County rotates students, with each participating in one School Board meeting during the year. Arlington County has no student representative.

At-large board member Ilryong Moon said adding representatives in a school division as large as Fairfax could distribute the workload and allow “more student voices to be reflected” on issues that matter to students.

“That’s worth discussing,” Moon said.

The committee directed staff members to conduct additional research. A potential change would most likely be considered during the five-year review of the school system’s student representative policy, scheduled for January 2026.

Under that timeline, an expanded student delegation probably could not take office before the 2026-2027 school year.

Board members also said other efforts to gather student input are underway, regardless of whether the representative policy changes.

“When they do speak up, it’s amazing what they have to say,” St. John-Cunning said.