Qualifications for SMOB: A bonafide resident of Montgomery County and an MCPS regularly enrolled junior or senior for the year in which he/she will serve.

SMOB Informational Meeting: Students considering applying for the position of SMOB are strongly encouraged to attend the January 5, 2012, informational meeting. Current and former SMOBs will be at the meeting to talk about the responsibilities and time commitment involved with being the SMOB. Informational Meeting (pdf) Jan. 5, 2012


SMOB Application: (application pdf) - candidates will be required to attend a 4:00-6:00 p.m., February 1, 2012 meeting. At this meeting, candidates will receive a packet of materials covering the election procedures, campaign rules, and have official candidate pictures taken. The SMOB application is due by 4:00 p.m. on January 26, 2012. If faxed (scan and email is preferred), the original application is due at the February 1, 2012 candidate's meeting. Questions? Email Karen_L_Crawford@mcpsmd.org. (filling file for schools to display - pdf file)

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The role of the Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB):

With the exceptions of boundary changes, capital and operating budgets, collective bargaining, negative personnel matters, and school closings, the SMOB has a vote equal to those of the seven adult Board members. The SMOB has a vote on issues like administrative appointments (including hiring of the Superintendent of Schools), policy, and the Board of Education's legislative platform. He or she also has a vote in the appeals that the Board decides in its quasi-judicial role–namely transfers and expulsions.

Many people say that the student member's job is to represent the student. While this statement is true, it is also the student member's job to represent every county resident. He or she needs to be just as considerate of parents, community members and organizations, businesses, and the unions as is any adult member. The student member needs to consider all information and the impact of his/her vote on the issue at hand.

Many people say that the student member's value is his or her ability to express the sentiment of the student body. This statement is also only partially true. The student member's value is his or her ability to examine issues and make decisions by looking through a student's eyes. Just as many adult Board members have served in PTAs and bring a parent's perspective as a result, student members have served in student governments (and other student organizations) and consequently bring a student's perspective. Student members must take their background as a student and apply it to making the same critical decisions as that of adult members.

Responsibilities/Meeting Schedule/Time:

The SMOB is responsible for attending all full Board meetings and all meeting of the standing committee(s) to which he or she is assigned. The student member must also attend other Board functions such as: hearings on student expulsions, forums on Strategic Planning, boundary hearings, and meetings with student and parent groups, along with the unions, County Council, and Montgomery County Delegation to the General Assembly.

Everyday, a packet is delivered to the SMOB's house that contains memos, press releases, correspondence from the public, and other important documents. Reading all of this information on a daily basis is essential to fulfilling the role of a Board member. So, be prepared to spend several hours daily on Board of Education business – MCPS will even loan you a file cabinet for your term of office!

Full Board meetings occur twice a month–one full day meeting and one evening meeting. Standing committees of the Board usually meet once a month. Do not underestimate the number of meetings and functions that Board members attend! There is literally an event or meeting to go to every single day if a Board member were so inclined. Oftentimes, individual Board members are needed to represent the entire Board of Education at various community functions and press conferences. If you don't keep a detailed, written schedule now, you will need to during your term.

Please carefully consider the time commitment if you want to run for this position. There are some perks to the job that you might want to know about:
• $5000 college scholarship–the SMOB is awarded a $5000 scholarship to the college of his/her choice. After serving a full term, MCPS transfers the money directly to the selected college.
• Student Service Learning hours (SSL)–the SMOB earns hour for hour of service, including time during the instructional day, for meetings, functions, and other official activities.
• Honors Social Studies Credit–one credit for Honors Social Studies is awarded to the SMOB at the end of his/her term.
• Reimbursements–the SMOB, like adult members, are reimbursed for mileage and other "out of pocket" required expenses. In addition, the Board of Education will pay the registration fee for the SMOB to attend Maryland Association of Student Councils(MASC) Conferences. At these conferences the SMOB has the opportunity to meet with the State SMOB and other county SMOBs and student representatives around the state.

If you would like to communicate with the current or a past SMOB, email:

• Alan Xie (Alan_Xie@mcpsmd.org)
•Tim Hwang (Timothy.T.Hwang@gmail.com) SMOB 2009-2010
•Quatral-Ann Malik (qmalik91@gmail.com) SMOB 2007-2008
Ben Moskowitz (ben.e.moskowitz@gmail.com ) SMOB 2007-2008
•Sebastian Johnson (sdpjohnson@gmail.com) SMOB 2005-2006
•Sagar Sanghvi(Sagar.Sanghvi@gs.com) SMOB 2003-2004; 2004-2005
•Mihyar Alnifaidy (Mihar.Alnifaidy@gmail.com) SMOB 2002-2003
•Dustin Jeter (Dustin_L_Jeter@mcpsmd.org) SMOB 2001-2002
Refer other questions to the Student Affairs Office (Karen_L_Crawford@mcpsmd.org or 301-670-1419).

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Background Info
A proposal to create a student seat on the Montgomery County Board of Education first surfaced in 1975. In 1977 the Maryland General Assembly amended Section 3-701 of the Education Article of the Annotated Code of the Public General Laws of Maryland to create a nonvoting student seat on the Board of Education. Blair Lee, the Acting Governor, signed the legislation in the spring of that year and the first student, David Naimon (Northwood High School) was elected by a representational assembly in the spring of 1978; he assumed his duties on July 1, 1978.

The law provides that MCR and the Board of Education will mutually agree on an election procedure. MCR is designated to administer the election procedure. The Special Election Committee was created to manage the process. The first four student members were selected in convention. Each of our secondary schools elected delegates who attended a one-day convention. The candidates made presentations and participated in a series of question and answer sessions. Sequential balloting resulted in the identification of the student who would serve the one-year term.

In 1982, the Board of Education and MCR agreed on a modified direct election procedure. The process that was initiated with the election of the fifth student Board member (Kurt Hirsch - Walt Whitman High School) provides that if more than two eligible students file for the office there will be a convention convened for the purpose of reducing the field candidates to two. Once the finalists are identified there is a designated campaign period. In the spring, generally during the last week in April, all students in middle school through grade 12 have the opportunity to vote. The Special Election Committee publishes a voter's guide that is distributed to all schools and it produces a video program, "Meet the Candidates" which is shown to all students prior to the election.

During the 1989 session of the Maryland General Assembly, Section 3-701 was again amended and established a limited vote for the student member. The twelfth student member (Alison Serino - Springbrook High School) was the first one to exercise the limited vote (vote is not counted on budget items, negative personnel matters, school closings/openings, and boundary changes).

Again in 1993 the General Assembly amended Section 3-701 providing the student member with a vote on budget. (Capitol and operating), school closings/re-openings, and boundaries. This amendment included a sunset provision and, unless there was action to eliminate the sunset, the voting status would revert to the 1989 limited vote at the end of 1995.(1993-1994 Carrie Baker - Albert Einstein High School and 1994-1995 Wendy Converse - Richard Montgomery High School were the only two SMOBs to exercise these extended voting rights.) Since there was no action to eliminate the sunset provision, the student vote reverted back to the 1989 limits. Currently, our student member voting status is similar to the student member on the State Board of Education.

In 2001-2002, A Compositional Task Force was convened to study various aspects of the Board of Education. At that time, the General Assembly amended Section 3-702 Compensation by adding, "A student member who completes a full term on the Board shall be granted a scholarship of $5,000 to be applied toward the student’s higher education costs." The 25th SMOB, Mihyar Alnifaidy, was the first recipient of the college scholarship.

To see the list of our Student Members of the Board of Education, click here.

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Updated July 31, 2011 | Maintained by Karen Crawford