Student Member of the Board of Education Election Process - Montgomery County Public Schools, MD | Montgomery County Public Schools

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Student Member of the Board - Election Process

Updates for the 2023 SMOB election have been posted below on December 9, 2022. Additional items will be updated as the finalists are identified and the materials are available.

Ballot Link (active only during specified voting periods)
Meet The Candidates
Candidate and Election Timeline
Overview of Election Process
Special Elections Committee
2023 SMOB Election Protocols: Download the pdf
Election Manual
The SMOB Election Training Google Presentation
Voter's Guide
Campaign Poster

SMOB 101 Event

MCR hosted a SMOB 101 event on November 17, 2022. During this event, students who attended learned about what the SMOB is, the role and work of the SMOB, how to become a SMOB candidate and the election process. Former SMOBs Hana O’Looney and Nate Tinbite and former SMOB finalists Zoe Tishaev and Vicky Kidder were also in attendance to share their journey.

Meet the Candidates

The SMOB Nominating Convention was held on Wednesday February 15, 2023. The two finalists selected for the 46th Student Member of the Board of Education were Mr. Sami Saeed and Mr. Yoseph Zerihun

Mr. Sami Saeed is a Grade 11 student at Richard Montgomery High School. He currently serves as the president of his school’s student government association (SGA), a member of the current SMOB Advisory Council, and a member of the Montgomery County Commission on Youth and Children. Mr. Saeed is an avid writer and has written for both the Richard Montgomery Tide and the MoCo Student.

Mr. Yoseph Zerihun is a Grade 11 student from Springbrook High School. He is the captain of the school’s debate and mock trial teams as well as the captain of the school’s Varsity baseball and golf teams. Mr. Zerihun also serves on the school SGA executive board as the Language Coordinator where he ensures that the school’s SGA materials are translated for all students.

SMOB Candidates 2023.jpg

View the Meet the SMOB Candidates Video to learn more about the candidates and their stances on a few key issues for students.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QobF2EOARWI&t=3s

Candidate and Election Timeline

SMOB CANDIDATE TIMELINE
ACTION	DATE	NOTES
SMOB Candidate Nomination Filing	January 3-26, 2023	SMOB candidate nomination filing closes on January 26, 2023 at 5 pm. Candidate nomination form can be found in the SMOB Election Protocols (pages 31-32). Completed forms should be scanned and emailed to Mrs. Shella Cherry, Director, Student Leadership & Extracurricular Activities at: shella_b_cherry@mcpsmd.org.
Mandatory SMOB Candidate Meeting	January 26, 2023	Will be held virtually from 6-7:30 pm. Meeting information will be sent to all approved candidates. Candidates meet with Special Elections Committee and the current SMOB to review the election process, protocols and expectations, and the job and current work of the SMOB. The original nomination form must be postmarked by January 26, 2023 and mailed to: Montgomery County Public Schools Special Elections Committee c/o Mrs. Shella Cherry, Director, Student Leadership & Extracurricular Activities 850 Hungerford Drive, Room 50 Rockville, MD 20850
SMOB Candidate Profiles Due Date	February 3, 2023	SMOB candidate profiles should be emailed to Mrs. Shella Cherry, Director, Student Leadership & Extracurricular Activities at: shella_b_cherry@mcpsmd.org by 5 pm to be included to in the SMOB Nominating Convention Candidate Profiles document. SMOB candidate profiles must include: Student name, grade, school Picture Answers to 3 questions shared at the January 26, 2023 mandatory SMOB candidate meeting
Mandatory SMOB Candidate Nomination Convention Review Meeting	February 9, 2023, 4-7 pm	Will be held virtually from 6-7:30 pm. SMOB candidates submit the following for review at this meeting: Copies of stickers, posters, flyers that will be handed out at the Nominating Convention Financial report (page 34 of the SMOB Election Protocols) Names and permission forms of the 5 members of the campaign team Presentation slides for Nominating Convention speech Speech talking points
SMOB Nominating Convention	February 15, 2023 (Snow date: February 22)	This experience may be held in-person or virtually through MCPS Zoom Webinar. A decision on this experience has yet to be determined.
"Meet the Candidates" Experience	TBD	SMOB finalists participate in a recorded Meet the Candidates experience to include a question and answer component that all secondary students will view.

SMOB ELECTION TIMELINE
ACTION	DATE	NOTES
SMOB Candidate Nomination Filing	January 3-26, 2023	Nomination Forms should be scanned and emailed to Mrs. Shella Cherry, Director, Student Leadership & Extracurricular Activities at: shella_b_cherry@mcpsmd.org by January 26, 2023 at 5 pm.
SMOB Nominating Convention	February 15, 2023 (Snow date: February 22)	This experience may be held in-person or virtually through MCPS Zoom Webinar. A decision on this experience has yet to be determined.
Election Day	April 19, 2023	Election polls open at 7:30 am and close at 3:30 pm. Results will be shared with finalists and made public at 5:30 pm. In the event of distance learning and an online election, the election window may be extended and elections results should be made public after 8:00 pm.
SMOB Swearing-In Ceremony	TBD

Overview of Election Process

The following is the usual sequence of events for the election of the student member of the Board of Education:

May – September

The MCR president designates the election administrator who chairs the special elections committee.

October – December

Membership for the special election committee is solicited. All MCPS students in middle school through grade 12 are eligible to be members of the committee. Each high school should have at least one student serving on the committee.

January

An informational meeting is conducted for students interested in learning more about the position of SMOB. Advertising and application materials are sent to high schools.

Students who are residents of Montgomery County, are regularly enrolled in a Montgomery County public school, and are either sophomores or juniors are eligible to run for SMOB. Filing forms are available through local student government organizations, the Student Leadership Unit, or on the Web. Candidates may nominate themselves or be nominated by others. The student leadership coordinator signs as the administrator after verifying the student's grade and enrollment in MCPS. Only complete applications submitted by the deadline will be considered. There is a mandatory candidates' meeting held at the end of January or beginning of February.

February – March

There is a selection/election of nominating convention delegates by local schools. If more than two SMOB candidates file, a convention is convened. Otherwise, half day town meetings are held. Either way, delegate selection/elections may be necessary.

Nominating Convention: During the nominating convention, there are two sets of balloting. The primary ballot narrows the field to half of the candidates. The second, preferential ballot, selects the final two candidates. If there are four or fewer candidates, only one ballot is needed.

April

Training sessions for local school election officials are conducted as needed (optional attendance). Schools can train student election officials by reviewing the movies and documents listed above.

General Election takes place on the last Wednesday of the month and every secondary student in grades 6–12 in MCPS is eligible to vote following all proper election protocols. There is also an "early voting" day approximately 5–6 days before the election to allow for students who will not be in school on election day (ex: 6th grade outdoor education).

Local student government support, assistance, and cooperation is needed to assure the success of the election each year.

Attention to the following is required:

Assuring that students are aware of the filing period, who is eligible to file for office, and who may nominate candidates.
Scheduling and administering the timely election of nominating convention/town meeting delegates.
Educating the voting population - airing the TV show, "Meet the Candidates," to all students and distributing the voters guide in multiple languages.
Conducting the election following all protocols on election day.

Special Elections Committee

Middle and high school students are needed to serve on the Special Elections Committee. This committee handles the logistical details for running the election of the Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB), a public official. Evening meetings run October – May.

It is imperative that the SEC has representation from EVERY high school and middle school representation is HIGHLY encouraged. Schools could form their own committee for running the SMOB election and have these students rotate attendance at the county meetings. This would be a great way to get a head start on your school’s election participation and serve on the SEC. This important committee handles the election logistics of a public official and is one of the few real civic educational opportunities in which students participate. Please actively recruit students at your school to join the SEC! Student service learning hours are applicable.