Students from both Boca Raton and Spanish River High Schools sat in as the Boca Raton City Council during Youth Government Day on Wednesday, April 11. Students were selected from each school to act as the Mayor, City Manager, City Clerk and City Attorney and Council Members, and then conducted mock council meetings to address two pressing issues in the community.
The students were welcomed by Mayor Susan Haynie, Deputy Mayor, Scott Singer and Council Member Monica Mayotte, and had an opportunity to ask questions about a variety of issues. Assistant City Manager, Michael Woika and City Clerk, Susan Saxton, then facilitated a program to actively guide students through the parliamentary procedures of City Council meetings and the processes behind passing resolutions. The two resolutions that were voted upon by the mock City Councils were banning plastic bags and implementing a bike sharing program within the City of Boca Raton.
Once the mock meetings were over, students were then able to go on tours based on their interest which included visiting the Boca Raton Police Department, Fire Rescue and Safety, Recreation Services, Utility Services, City Manager’s Office and Development Services.
The program started in 1970, when a Boca Raton Rotary Club connected with Boca Raton High School and approached the City in creating an annual program to help educate students on their local government, their form of local government and how it works. Today, the program hosts up to 30 students from both high schools to participate.
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