Kennewick students page in the House of Representatives
Two Kennewick High School freshmen paged in the state House of Representatives in Olympia March 1-5.
Melissa Schmitz, daughter of Nancy and David Schmitz of Kennewick and Myanna Harris, daughter of Susan and Mark Harris, were sponsored by their state representative Maureen Walsh.
“I hope the young ladies had a great experience and will continue to explore and get involved with their state government,” said Walsh, R-Walla Walla. “I’m always encouraged to see young people interested in civics.”
Schmitz and Harris spent a part of every day in legislative page school, learning hands-on how a bill is passed. At the end of the week, they each had the opportunity to sponsor a mock bill.
Harris introduced a bill to reduce spending in the state budget, while Schmitz introduced a bill to end bilingual education programs in schools to save money in the budget.
In addition to page school, the young ladies served an important role in the Legislature, delivering documents and notes to legislators on the House floor and around the Capitol campus.
Since 1891, students from around the state have applied to participate in the legislative page program. Pages earn $35 for each day they serve in the program.
Interested students must be between the ages of 14 and 16, have permission from their school and a parent, and be sponsored by a legislator. For more information about the House page program, visit: http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/Pages/HousePageProgram.aspx.
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Contact: Sarah Lamb, public information officer, (360) 786-7720
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