Students Have Earned the Right

Very recently the Washington Post published an article about the Montgomery County Smob having power.  But the Washington Post also mentioned that

"In Anne Arundel County, the student school board member can vote on everything — a power that county officials say is unique in the nation."

They aren't reporting on the failures of that system, in fact they are complimenting it.  Then shouldn't this full voting rights also be applied in Montgomery County.  Also, Patricia O’Neill, who has served on the Board of Education since 1998 said,

“My experience has been many students take it more seriously than some of the adults and come better prepared.”

A board member has obviously noticed that students who are elected to this board are dedicated and are very hard working members, so they should have the full voting rights other members have.  Lets work together next year to pass this bill in the Senate and give the SMOB full voting rights!

Issues With Not Being Able to Vote on a Budget

One of the problems with the SMOB not having full voting rights is that they can not vote on the budget.  Though they may offer their opinions, the SMOB gets no actual vote when it comes down to it.  1 vote out of eight is a lot, and if the SMOB has credible surveys and information about the students' opinions, it may sway other adults in the direction of their opinions.  The suggested cuts for FY 2012 can be found here.  One thing that is suggested to being cut in the proposed budget is athletics.    Many students would take a firm stance of no against this cut, but all the SMOB can do to represent their students can give their opinion.  This SMOB who had to campaign just as hard as the other adults in the room, so shouldn't they receive the same voting rights?

Overcoming the Senate

Recently, a bill that was to give full voting rights to the SMOB was passed in the House by a 92-39 vote, but the bill was not passed in the Senate.  Sen. Brian E. Frosh of Bethesda echoed the thoughts of the Senate by saying,

"The student member is largely elected by nonvoting residents who do not pay county taxes and therefore do not have the same perspective as adult members."

  To argue his first point, though students do not vote in countywide elections and do not pay taxes does not mean that they are not constituents.  In fact, the decisions made by the Board of Educations most greatly affect the 144,046 students currently enrolled in Montgomery County, so shouldn't this student member have just as much power as the adults who are elected by the other constituents who will not be as affected by the decisions in the room?  Frosh also mentions that, "[They] do not have the same perspective as adult members."  Why would he want the student to have the same opinions of the adults?  The whole point of the SMOB is so that the board will hear the voice of the students, the most important constituents.  Shouldn't that very important voice have their own opinion and own vote on all issues?  I believe that for a SMOB to be elected by such a large constituency would mean that they would be responsible enough to make these decisions.  It is by these arguments that I propose that the SMOB should receive full voting rights.  Read the rest of the article here.