At the end of each year, the MCPS Student Member of the Board, dubbed “SMOB”, is elected for the upcoming school year. This time, BCC junior Eric Guerci will be running as an incumbent, having served as SMOB this year. He will be going against RM junior Alex Abrosimov.
Students have mixed opinions on the elections. Senior Tristan Shonat does not see the point in voting.
“I have never seen [anyone who gets] elected SMOB… affect me at all,” Shonat said.
On the other hand, freshman Drew Skilton believes that the elections are very important for students.
“If a student really likes an art program and a school is [underfunded].. they should tell their SMOB and he’ll work his best to try to fulfill what they want,” Skilton said.
Skilton views the responsibilities of the Student Member of the Board as significant, given the number of MCPS students.
“With a coalition of over 154,000 students, the SMOB’s job is to bring each student’s opinion and thought to the board table,” he said.
He started putting more thought into voting when he was in seventh grade.
“I started to realize more what the SMOB does and how the SMOB makes an impact on what goes on in the county,” Skilton said.
On the other hand, Shonat does not choose a candidate based on merit.
“I usually just vote for the person with the cool name,” said Shonat. She is also unaware of any affect current SMOB Eric Guerci has had on MCPS students.
In contrast, Skilton thinks he has made positive change.
“I think Eric’s done a great job… he brought everyone’s opinion together for final exams,” Skilton said, citing Guerci’s successful ban on MCPS final exams.
Students will have to wait and see what this year’s elected SMOB brings to the table.
