Once again, the election for Student Member of The Board (SMOB) is upon us, with voting taking place on Monday, April 19th. The candidates this year are Sami Saeed, who is currently a junior at Richard Montgomery High School, and Yoseph Zerihun, a junior at Springbrook High School. All Montgomery County students from grades 6-12 are eligible to vote in the election.

Students should have received an email in their Gmail containing both the “Meet the Candidates” video, as well as instructions on how to vote. The email also contains profiles of the two candidates, which explain their core values and focuses that they would do if elected. For example, Sami believes that the biggest problem that needs to be addressed is the increase in overdoses at our schools, and Yoseph agrees, while also mentioning that he would put mental health and the education gap in his top three as well. Ryan Maged, the 2024 SGA president, commented that “I will definitely encourage my fellow students to vote, not just a blunt vote, but an informed one because the SMOB represents our voice in county affairs equal to any adult board member.”

Noah Taylor, a junior at B-CC, believes that a SMOB should “represent the students and listen to what we think the problems are.” The SMOB’s job is to be an embodiment of the students at board meetings and help to communicate student issues to the Board of Education. Essentially, the SMOB is the vote from the students, so when voting, it’s important to ensure that the person agrees with you on specific issues. According to junior AJ Prabhala, “I want to see better school lunches, so my vote will go to the person who will solve that issue.”

For Candidate Profiles See These Links: 

Yoseph Zerihun

Sami Saeed