Article Summary –
Mikah Dyer, a recent high school graduate running for Peoria Unified School Board, emphasizes prioritizing student voice, empowerment, and representation by proposing participatory budgeting and youth liaisons. He advocates for nonpartisan school board elections to avoid divisive culture wars, contrasting with another candidate, Janelle Bowles, who has extremist views. Dyer stresses the importance of ensuring proper funding for public schools and opposes policies such as vouchers that divert funds to private schools, aiming to work collaboratively across political lines to support public education.
This spring, Mikah Dyer graduated from Ironwood High School in Peoria. In the fall, he’ll be running for the school board.
“I’ve been in the district since kindergarten,” Dyer said, noting he attended Coyote Hills Elementary and Sunset Heights Elementary.
Dyer has been attending Peoria Unified School Board meetings for years. He believes something crucial is missing.
“My top priority is student voice, empowerment, and representation within the district,” Dyer said.
To address this, Dyer’s platform includes “participatory budgeting” and adding youth liaisons to the school board.
Participatory budgeting allows the community to decide how to spend a portion of the public budget, fostering local involvement instead of division.
“[It] can educate on democratic processes regarding the budget,” Dyer explained.
Youth liaisons would participate in meetings as non-voting members, ensuring student voices are heard.
“It’s disheartening to see board members so detached from the classroom realities,” Dyer said.
A school board is no place for a culture war
Arizona school board races are nonpartisan, so voters must research candidates’ beliefs. Dyer emphasizes homework is vital to maintaining schools’ focus on education rather than political agendas.
“A divisive board leads to divisive schools and classrooms. Our classrooms must be spaces where students feel comfortable,” he said.
In contrast, Janelle Bowles, another candidate for Peoria School Board and sister of Arizona Sen. Anthony Kern, has extremist posts on her Instagram account, though her campaign site doesn’t reflect these views.
“[School boards] should remain a nonpartisan race,” Dyer reiterated. “I want voters to look me up and see my top priorities.”
Despite the local power of school boards, their funding is limited by the Arizona Legislature.
Dyer is willing to collaborate with Republicans and Democrats if it supports public education.
Arizona’s Republican agenda has promoted “school choice” and vouchers, diverting funds from public schools to private and charter schools.
“In Paradise Valley Unified School District, they had to close schools partly due to [vouchers],” Dyer noted. “I don’t want that happening here in Peoria.”
Dyer is focused on securing proper funding for the Peoria Unified School District and ensuring student and staff safety.
“I earned the ‘gun sense candidate’ distinction from Moms Demand Action, an organization preventing gun violence,” Dyer said.
Local elections significantly impact day-to-day life, and Dyer highlighted the potential strong influence of the Peoria Unified School District board race on the community.
“The more local the race, the more it affects your daily life,” he said.
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