Two Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) high school students running to be the next Student Member of the Board (SMOB) will participate in a virtual town hall on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

Abhijeet Mand, a junior at North Point High School, and Munachi Obinali, a La Plata High School sophomore, will answer questions submitted by CCPS students in Grades 6 to 12 during the event which will be livestreamed at 6 p.m. on the CCPS YouTube channel.

Questions must be submitted by noon, Tuesday, Feb. 18, using the form — https://forms.office.com/r/FEydr1HCQv.

A Zoom link to the town hall will be shared through Synergy mail to students eligible to vote for the SMOB. The town hall will be posted to the CCPS YouTube channel following the taping.

Mand’s and Obinali’s candidate introductory videos and their issue statements will be available to view online starting Feb. 21. CCPS middle and high school students can watch the videos at the Charles County Association of Student Councils (CCASC) website. CCPS middle and high school students have access to the site when they are logged into their CCPS Office 365 account. 

The position of Student Member of the Board of Education of Charles County includes voting rights. The Student Member is a full member of the Board and can vote on most matters except for legal appeals; personnel matters; collective bargaining; the hiring, salary and evaluation of the superintendent; operating and capital budgets; and school openings, closings and boundaries.

The general election will take place March 31 through May 2 with the ballot being emailed to students via Synergy. Results will be announced the week of May 6 and the SMOB will be sworn into office in last June for a term that starts on July 1. The student elected to be the Student Member on the Board will serve during the 2025-2026 school year.

Students with questions can email Gary Winsett, CCASC advisor, at gwinsett@ccboe.com.  

About CCPS

Charles County Public Schools provides 28,162 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.  CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).