Arvin Kim, a junior at Walt Whitman High School, has been elected the Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB) for the 2022-2023 school year. Mr. Kim’s term begins on July 1, 2022.
All secondary students were eligible to vote in the SMOB election and more than 56,000 students cast ballots. Mr. Kim received 58.7 percent of the vote, while his opponent, Ibrahima (Baba) Cisse, a junior at Albert Einstein High School, received 40.8 percent. The SMOB election was held on April 20, 2022 through an electronic ballot that all students received in their MCPS email and were encouraged to vote through a class lesson.
In the past five years, Mr. Kim has served as vice president of the countywide Middle School Student Government Association and the treasurer and chief of staff for the Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association. He has advocated for students on issues including increased funding, mental health days and safer schools at the national, state and local levels. He has served as a director on the SMOB Advisory Cabinet. He is also a founding member of MoCo Pride Youth, a certified workshop presenter for the Maryland Association of Student Councils and vice president of the Asian American Progressive Student Union.
The SMOB is a voting member of the Montgomery County Board of Education. The SMOB can vote on matters related to collective bargaining, capital and operating budgets, and school closings, reopenings and boundaries. The SMOB cannot vote on negative personnel actions. The SMOB is not paid, but does receive a $5,000 college scholarship, Student Service Learning hours, and one honors-level social studies credit.
Mr. Kim will replace Hana O’Looney, a senior at Richard Montgomery High School, who will graduate in June. He will be the 45th Student Member of the Board.
For more information, visit the Student Member of the Board website.
