Nicholas Asante, a rising senior at Richard Montgomery High School, will be sworn in as the 43rd Student Member of the Montgomery County Board of Education (SMOB) for the 2020–2021 school year on July 2 at 10:30 a.m., at the Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville. He will be sworn in by Clerk of the Court Barbara Meiklejohn. Mr. Asante will offer comments at a reception afterward at Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville. The reception at Carver will be livestreamed on MCPS TV and on the MCPS website.

Mr. Asante was elected to serve a one-year term on the Board by middle and high school students of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). He received 59 percent of the vote in the May 20 election. This SMOB election was held remotely as a result of the extended emergency school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Asante served as chief of staff for the Montgomery County Regional (MCR) Student Government Association (SGA) and as chief of staff for the current SMOB, Mr. Nathaniel Tinbite. He also served as legislative affairs director for MCR SGA and as president of the Montgomery County Junior Council SGA.

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 receives a $5,000 college scholarship, Student Service Learning hours, and one honors-level social studies credit.

Mr. Asante succeeds Nate Tinbite, a 2020 graduate of John F. Kennedy High School.

For more information, visit the Student Member of the Board website.