Olivia Hidalgo Selected as Ex-Officio Student Board Member

Olivia Hidalgo, a junior at Amherst Central High School, was selected as the 2025-26 Ex-Officio Student member of the Amherst Central Board of Education. She will begin her one-year term on July 1 and serve until June 30, 2026.

Active in many clubs at school, she holds a part-time retail job, volunteers at a food pantry and maintains a high academic grade point average. She is a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish Honor Society. She plays junior varsity girls lacrosse. Her club involvement includes stage crew, student council, tea club and the gay straight alliance. She attends Erie 1 BOCES Health Careers program and intends to pursue a career in pediatric nursing and public health.

There were four juniors and one sophomore who applied for the position by submitting an online essay and two letters of recommendation. All candidates were interviewed by the Superintendent of Schools and the District Clerk. The ex-officio student member of the Board was selected by the Superintendent through an interview process as it is not an elected position.

Last September Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law that requires school districts in New York State to have an ex-officio student representative on the Board of Education as of July 1, 2025. The ex-officio student member of the Board will sit with Board members at all public meetings of the Board and participate in all Board hearings and meetings. The student member will not vote or attend executive sessions.