Praneel Suvarna Elected as Next Student Member of the Board (SMOB)
Praneel Suvarna, a junior at Clarksburg High School, has been elected the Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB) for the 2024-2025 school year. Mr. Suvarna’s term begins on July 1, 2024.
All secondary students were eligible to vote in the SMOB election and more than 58,927 students cast ballots. Mr. Suvarna received 53 percent of the vote, while his opponent, Samantha (Sam) Ross, a junior at Montgomery Blair High School, received 47 percent. The SMOB election was held on April 17, 2024 through an electronic ballot that all students received in their MCPS email and were encouraged to vote through a class lesson.
Mr. Suvarna serves as the vice president of the Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association and is the junior class president for his school. His experiences include working with the Student Advisory Mental Health Board and MoCo for Change. He is also a certified presenter with the Maryland Association of Student Councils.
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 $25,000 college scholarship, Student Service Learning hours, and one honors-level social studies credit.
Mr. Suvarna will replace Mr. Sami Saeed, a senior at Richard Montgomery High School, who will graduate in June. He will be the 47th Student Member of the Board.
For more information, visit the Student Member of the Board website.