MCPS students can soon begin filing for SMOB position
Montgomery County high school students can soon announce their candidacy for a position on the county Board of Education.
Beginning Jan. 2, all Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) sophomores and juniors can file for candidacy for the student member of the school board, currently held by Richard Montgomery High School senior Ananya Tadikonda.
Tadikonda was sworn in as the 41st student member of the board in July, and her term will expire in July 2019.
Students can file via the MCPS student leadership website through Jan. 25, after which a mandatory candidate’s meeting will be held. On Feb. 20, a nominating convention will be held at Gaithersburg High School. Delegates from each MCPS middle and high school will convene and select two finalists, who will then campaign from Feb. 21 through April 24, Tadikonda said at recent school board meeting.
On April 24, all approximately 85,000 middle and high school students will be able to vote in a general election to decide the 42nd student member of the board.
“It’s a great process and I’d encourage anyone interested in government, politics, education or the things that affect their daily lives to participate,” Tadikonda said.
School board appoints members to committees
With a new school board comes new appointments to board committees, a task that was completed last week.
Judy Docca, Brenda Wolff and Jeanette Dixon will be on the Fiscal Management Committee, with Dixon as the chairperson.
Docca is chair of the Policy Management Committee, and is joined by Pat O’Neill, Rebecca Smondrowski and student member Ananya Tadikonda.
Wolff, Karla Silvestre, Wolff and Rebecca Smondrowski are on the Committee on Special Populations, with Smondrowski as chair.
Tadikonda heads the Strategic Planning Committee, and is joined by Dixon, Silvestre and board President Shebra Evans.
Nominations open for Edward Shirley award
Nominations are being accepted to recognize the county’s top public schools administrator.
Nominees for the annual Dr. Edward Shirley Award for Excellence in Educational Administration and Supervision award will be accepted through Jan. 7 and can include principals, assistant principals, business administrators and other supervisor positions within MCPS.
The award is presented in April by the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals.
