Justin Kim elected Student Member of the Board

On April 24, Montgomery County Public School students cast their votes for the 36th Student Member of the Board (SMOB), electing Justin Kim of Poolesville High School over Andrew Zhang of Richard Montgomery with nearly twice as many votes.

Many students and teachers felt that both candidates were equally qualified for the position. "I am very happy for Justin. I have worked with both Justin and Andrew this year, and, in my opinion, they were both equally qualified to serve as the SMOB," sophomore Christina McCann who ran for SMOB this year said.

Notably, there were 709 blank ballots cast. "A blank ballot means that the student exercised his or her right to vote; however, he or she did not vote for either candidate," according to MCPS.

Kim visited Blair on April 6th, as well as nearby Silver Spring International Middle School, where he listened to students' opinions on their personal freedoms. "I especially enjoyed listening to suggestions from the students, including one by a student at [Silver Spring International] to allow middle school students to eat outside near the cafeteria," Kim wrote on his campaign website afterward.

Students from the Rock Terrace School and John L. Gildner Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents also voted in the elections. And Kim received endorsements from students who attend multiple county schools, including Clarksburg, Northwest, Walter Johnson and many others. This variety in support played a huge factor in his success.

Items on Kim's platform include reducing class sizes, closing the achievement gap, and having open lunches. All of these goals are highly ambitious and Blair's McCann hopes to be involved with these matters. "I am excited to work with both of them next year to tackle issues in MCPS and make the student voice heard," McCann said.