SMOB Candidate Profiles 2020

This year, MoCo Connect asked YOU what you wanted to hear about from your SMOB candidates. Although we couldn’t include every question, we selected five and compiled individual answers from each candidate. Nominating Convention will be held on February 12, 2020, where two final candidates will be selected to be voted on by MCPS middle and high school students this April.

Nick Asante

1. What is your name, grade, and school?

My name is Nick Asante and I’m an 11th grader at Richard Montgomery HS.

2. What makes you stand out from the other candidates this year and previous SMOBs?

I think every SMOB candidate recognizes the issues with our system and is passionate about fixing said issues. I believe the thing that differentiates me from the other candidates is having the experience and knowledge that will aid me in solving these issues. What good are ideas if you don’t know how to make them a reality? Having had the chance to work closely with our past 3 SMOBs, I’ve learned the behind-the-scenes processes necessary for enacting real change at the board table.

3. What is your proposed plan for the $2.6 billion MCPS budget?

Each year, our operational budget gets passed with many students being left in the dark about what’s going behind the scenes. During my term, one thing I plan on pushing for is increased student input on our budget and making sure that the needs of students from all over the county are truly reflected in the budget. I also plan to push for increased funding towards our mental health awareness training for teachers, feminine hygiene products for bathrooms, and chrome books for every student to use in/out of the classroom.

4. What would you currently identify as the biggest problem in MCPS?

The opportunity gap in our county continues to grow and is undoubtedly the biggest issue in MCPS.

5. How will you connect your goals as SMOB to the achievements of previous SMOBs? Do you have plans to build on any former-SMOB's work?

Serving as the SMOB Chief of Staff this year, I’ve been closely involved in a lot of the efforts of our current SMOB, Nate Tinbite. Next year, I plan to continue to fight for issues Nate has focused on, such as increased ESOL funding and a diversifying our curriculum, while bringing in my own innovative ideas.

6. Elementary school students don't get to vote in SMOB elections but still are affected by SMOB decisions. What plans, if any, do you have for elementary schools and their students?

One major thing I hope to accomplish as SMOB is holding a leadership summit centered around teaching elementary school students to advocate for themselves. Despite making up 50% of our county’s student body, elementary school students are often overlooked in the decision making process. I believe it’s important we push their issues to the forefront, especially because your education during your earlier years sets the path for the rest of your educational career.

Deborah Etyang

1. What is your name, grade, and school?

My name is Deborah Etyang, I am a junior at Northwood Highschool.

2. What makes you stand out from the other candidates this year and previous SMOBs?

I think something that’s different is that my drive for change comes from my experiences so I seek to better the lives of those that come after me.

3. What is your proposed plan for the $2.6 billion MCPS budget?

Towards financial Ed courses, free Sat/Act prep courses and the expansion of the MC2 program allowing students to be in both high school and college.

4. What would you currently identify as the biggest problem in MCPS?

I think it’s that there’s no equal access to opportunities

5. How will you connect your goals as SMOB to the achievements of previous SMOBs? Do you have plans to build on any former-SMOB's work?

If Nate Tinbite’s push for Drivers-Ed classes isn’t complete I intend to support it

6. Elementary school students don't get to vote in SMOB elections, but still are affected by SMOB decisions. What plans, if any, do you have for elementary schools and their students?

Something I’ll be advocating for is the implementation of 5-10 minute breaks at the end of each class to help elementary schoolers adjust to the loss of recess coming in to middle school

Edward Piontek

1. What is your name, grade, and school?

My name is Edward Piontek. I'm in 10th grade at Sherwood High School.

2. What makes you stand out from the other candidates this year and previous SMOBs?

When I was in seventh grade, former SMOB, Matt Post, won. This got me interested in the SMOB position, because a man who grew up going to the same middle and high school as me won. Over the years, I have talked to hundreds of students. What I found was that many people don’t feel they’re views have been heard. I wanted to help them, but I didn’t know how. I decided to run for SMOB, not because I wanted to, but because I wanted to help people.

Like many students, I have participated in sports, music, and theatre programs. I’ve gone through the struggles of AP tests, or changing middle school buildings. Maybe you have gone through these things, maybe you haven’t. The point I’m trying to make is everybody in the country has had a different experience. My goal as SMOB is to bring the individual story of every person in the county to the board.

3. What is your proposed plan for the $2.6 billion MCPS budget?

The first thing I would do is stop Music and Arts Programs from getting budget cuts. Over the past few years, these programs have been hit hard. High Schools all around the county have had to make music teachers part time, or get rid of them all together. These programs have suffered. I plan to stop this from happening. They are not only fun classes to take, but they also offer a good educational value. Students enrolled in music and arts courses on average score 31 points higher than those who aren’t on the SAT.

I plan to invest in security. It is all too often that we hear of a tragic event in a school somewhere in the country. It is important that we protect our students, so it never happens in their school. First, we need to update our security systems with the best ones on the market. Then, we need to install panic buttons. These are like fire alarms, except they alert you of a threat in the building. If an emergency were to happen, they could be activated like a fire alarm. That way, the school can be alerted as fast as possible. In addition, I plan on improving cyber security in the county. Last December, 6,000 MCPS accounts were hacked, revealing students personal information. We must invest in cyber security so it doesn’t happen again.

I plan on replacing fuses with hydrogen fuel cell busses. These give off zero carbon emissions, and are more reliable than electricity. I plan to do this in phases, so the budget is not hit all at one time.

In addition, I would create new AP, SAT, and ACT test prep programs for students.

4. What would you currently identify as the biggest problem in MCPS?

The biggest problem in MCPS should always be how can we improve student's education. When everything boils down, the goal of the county is to ensure the best possible education for students. However, how can the county do this when music programs are having their budgets cut, students aren't getting proper lunches, people don’t feel safe in schools, there is lead in the water fountains, or MCPS accounts get hacked leaking personal information of 6,000+ students.

If elected to SMOB, I will offer solutions to the problems listed above. I will listen to the students, to bring their ideas to the table. MCPS is already one of the nations top countries, but we have potential to be the best in the nation. My goal as SMOB is to get us there.

5. How will you connect your goals as SMOB to the achievements of previous SMOBs? Do you have plans to build on any former-SMOB's work?

If we undo what a previous SMOB has done when a new one enters, nothing will ever get done. So, while I'll bring new ideas to the table, I also plan to build off of old ones.

For example, Nate Tinbite started efforts to get drivers ed. back in high schools. He got a bill passed making it able to happen. My goal is to go through with it. I plan on bringing it to every high school.

Another problem I plan to expand on is the issue of lead in water fountains at MCPS schools. The legal limit in MD is 20 ppd, however in 2018 some schools had over 700ppd in water fountains. Ingesting large levels of lead can lead to brain damage. In late 2018 the county got all of the water levels below 20ppd. I plan to rework water systems in schools to lower that level to as close to zero as possible.

In addition, I will also help expand electives and career path programs to help people find out what they want to do in college, or prepare those who choose not to go to college.

6. Elementary school students don't get to vote in SMOB elections, but still are affected by SMOB decisions. What plans, if any, do you have for elementary schools and their students?

Ingesting lead large amounts of lead at a young age can lead to permanent brain damage. However, in 2018 an MCPS study revealed that the majority of water fountains above the legal limit for lead in water was in Elementary School Classes. This is unacceptable. I plan on reworking our water systems to lower the lead in water ration to as close to zero lead as possible.

Nick Spring

1. What is your name, grade, and school?

Nick Spring, 10th, Damascus High School

2. What makes you stand out from the other candidates this year and previous SMOBs?

What makes me stand out compared to the other smobs is that I'm a very different and untraditional candidate that sets me apart from the rest. Year after year we have basically been voting for the same person but this year I stepped up to the plate to change that. If you vote for me expect radical positive change that will reshape the smob position as we know and bring equality throughout Montgomery. I'm a candidate who won't just take one part of the county into consideration, I'll think about the county as a whole.

3. What is your proposed plan for the $2.6 billion MCPS budget?

As smob I will work with my fellow members of the board to allocate more money towards rebuilding schools that are in desperate needs of rebuilds, like Damascus and Wootton. I will also work to allocate more money towards the fine arts. Year after year when we have to make budget cuts one of the first things we take from is the fine arts and as smob I will put my foot down and bring an end to that. The fine arts are one of our most important subjects in our schools and we should treat it that way and stop ignoring them.

4. What would you currently identify as the biggest problem in MCPS?

The biggest problem in our county is definitely infrastructure. Many schools deal with infrastructure problems and year after year they go unaddressed. I see these problems every day as a student at Damascus high school whether it be broken ceilings, constant power outages or overcrowded narrow hallways. As a student at Damascus I feel as if I have a higher chance of dying from an exposed pipe falling on my head than being a victim of gun violence. As smob I will work towards creating plans to rebuild these schools because in some cases a renovation is just a waste of money because the thing they need is a new building. If you wanna have the best education you need to have the best learning environment, and to have the best learning environment you need to have the best building.

5. How will you connect your goals as SMOB to the achievements of previous SMOBs? Do you have plans to build on any former-SMOB's work?

One of my plans to build off our most recent smobs idea is his proposal to bring more climate change education to schools. I feel that this is very important because students need to be educated about the issue and if nate can't pass this plan then I would work on getting it passed during my term.

6. Elementary school students don't get to vote in SMOB elections, but still are affected by SMOB decisions. What plans, if any, do you have for elementary schools and their students?

One of my plans for elementary school students is rebuilding their crumbling schools. Countless elementary schools around the county are in desperate need of renovations and rebuilds and year after year they are ignored. I will be the smob to finally address and answer these problems.

Jason Wood

1. What is your name, grade, and school?

I’m Jay Wood and I’m a junior at Churchill

2. What makes you stand out from the other candidates this year and previous SMOBs?

What makes me stand out is my policy that is focused on affecting the everyday lives as students, and my experience making real tangible change in Montgomery County

3. What is your proposed plan for the $2.6 billion MCPS budget?

The candidate did not respond to this prompt

4. What would you currently identify as the biggest problem in MCPS?

I think the biggest problem affecting MCPS is the huge disparities between school clusters and racial groups in the county, and student wellbeing.

5. How will you connect your goals as SMOB to the achievements of previous SMOBs? Do you have plans to build on any former-SMOB's work?

I want to build upon a lot of the work done by Nate, especially by including more counselors into the budget. Something I also want to do that’s notable is including tampons and pads in all middle and high school girls bathrooms

6. Elementary school students don't get to vote in SMOB elections, but still are affected by SMOB decisions. What plans, if any, do you have for elementary schools and their students?

One of the biggest policies I want to implement that would affect elementary school students is a pre-K age program that exposes lower income minority students to educational materials. According to many studies, a young child’s exposure to education is the biggest factor in their educational pathway but many single parent or low income households just don’t have the time to give their kids the head start they need.

Candidates who did not respond when asked or could not be reached for comment:

Jawad Ali Malik

Sean Paton

Helina Kassa

Yonathan Liebstein

Angel Herrera

Roselyn Garcia

Victoria Kidder

James Mu

For more information about each candidate, view their official submissions at: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/student-leadership/smob/2020%20Voters%20Guide.pdf