Amidst startling gun-related incidents, increasing opioid use, and growing unease surrounding school security, 2025 has already proven to be a tumultuous year for the students of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The MCPS Board of Education has also undergone significant changes, as three of its eight members were elected to their first terms in November of last year. With growing concerns from both students and parents in the county, the Board needs significant changes to address the top issues for MCPS constituents.
On April 23, MCPS students will have the opportunity to have their voices heard as they cast their votes in the 48th annual Student Member of the Board (SMOB) election. The elected SMOB member will have direct input into the policies that affect the lives and education of over 160,000 students in the county. They will have to respond to the various issues that, by and large, students feel have not been fully addressed, from the ever-present mental health crisis to regional disparities to mounting security concerns. It is now more important than ever to elect an SMOB who can handle this crucial position and make the changes called for by MCPS students.
Two SMOB finalists were selected from ten preliminary candidates at the 2025 SMOB Nominating Convention on Feb. 19. The finalists in the 2025 race are high school juniors Peter Boyko of Northwest High School and Anuva Maloo of Montgomery Blair High School. Both candidates have significant experience in student advocacy across various organizations, including in-school student government associations and MCPS SMOB Advisory Councils.
After interviewing both candidates and researching each candidate’s platform and experience, The Tide’s Editorial Board has decided to endorse Peter Boyko in the 2025-2026 MCPS SMOB election.
Peter began his work in student advocacy by running for SGA secretary in seventh grade, which catapulted his journey. Within five years, he has testified ten times at the county and state levels. He served as the chief of staff for former Board of Education Vice President Lynne Harris and co-founded Eco MoCo, the county’s largest student-led environmental organization. With his extensive experience, having participated in over 12 advocacy groups, Boyko realized that the best way to bring about immediate change was to apply his experiences as SMOB. “I can testify to the Board, I can sign up for as many clubs, but if I can actually have a seat at the table, be a voting board member, and work quickly with central office staff to create solutions, I think I can make change quicker,” Boyko said. “I want to be the voice that can do things that students want immediately, and not just from a distance. The key word there is immediately.” Boyko’s multitude of experiences will contribute to his ability to develop leadership connections, and his sense of urgency will ensure that his policies are implemented.
His unparalleled experience advocating for students has put him in a position that very few other candidates have found themselves in. Having testified to the board ten times and holding substantial conversations with board members, he has solidified his standing among the Board of Education. This gives him the credibility and power to incite change and turn students’ ideas into tangible resolutions. As he has stated previously, the SMOB is only one member of an eight-person entity, and having an established understanding of other board members will go a long way in ensuring our voices are heard. “I really prioritize being realistic and setting tangible goals. I’ve been following the SMOBs closely for the past five years, and we see there’s a common narrative that the SMOB doesn’t do anything,” Boyko said. “And I want to change that.”
After serving in numerous clubs across MCPS, Bokyo has come to understand the importance of involving these students’ voices in policy. Boyko has outlined a plan to work directly with student organizations to advance initiatives. This will be done by attending their monthly meetings to hear what is important to them, and then inviting them to testify before the board. Boyko hopes to contribute to these clubs by encouraging them to testify at meetings and helping to foster relationships between club leaders and board members. “I want to mobilize different organizations to show up and show out whenever there‘s an initiative or proposal at the board table that needs to be passed and relates to that organization,” Boyko said. One organization that Boyko hopes to work with is Compostology, a student-run organization that aims to expand composting to all schools in MCPS. Some other organizations Boyko works with include the Montgomery County Regional SGA, Eco MoCo and MoCo Empowher, in addition to individual school clubs.
While Boyko has several smaller goals to improve the school system, one of his larger, year-long objectives is to increase awareness of and programs for climate change. He believes that MCPS has shifted away from promoting sustainability in recent years and has made it a point of emphasis in his SMOB platform to reverse that trend. “Our county and central office had a Division of Sustainability and Compliance that worked on a lot of sustainability goals, such as working to reduce emissions by 100 percent by 2035 and getting a net-zero school system by 2035,” Boyko said. “However, just recently, the superintendent proposed getting rid of the Division of Sustainability and Compliance, which would set us backwards and take us off track towards reaching those climate goals…I plan to work with the superintendent to bring back this division.”
A few of Boyko’s other climate-related aims include finalizing a contract with an electric bus company, establishing a composting facility and programs in all 211 schools in the county, and developing a climate action plan similar to that of Prince George’s County. He is also interested in incorporating more environmental literacy into science curricula, working with the Division of Sustainability and Compliance to publicize data related to MCPS’ sustainability efforts, and leading a campaign to get all schools Green School Certified by 2035. With global warming and climate change increasingly impacting Maryland each year, Boyko’s focus on this issue as SMOB is critical to ensuring improvement and promoting green initiatives.
From the start of his campaign, Boyko has made school safety a top priority. “We are seeing far too many, far too often, school safety incidents in our county,” Boyko said. “We should start by finding space in our budget to push for school safety because I think any issue that puts our lives on the line is worth funding, and with a $3 billion budget, there has to be space for that.”
He hopes to build on former SMOB Sami Saeed’s policies regarding school IDs by ensuring that all schools enforce these measures. He is focused on setting tangible measures aimed at prevention, including keeping weapons off campus, enforcing the ID policy, and finding space in the budget to fund more security guards and better security technology. With a focus on combating the opioid crisis, Boyko hopes to increase NARCAN distribution to all secondary schools and to implement NARCAN training into the sophomore health curriculum. Boyko views the implementation of these measures as a starting point to his overall goal of fostering a school system that prioritizes student well-being, success, and development.
As a SMOB, one of the most important aspects of representing the youth of Montgomery County is effective, efficient, and transparent communication with students. This aspect is vital for sharing the progress the board has made in addressing specific issues, as well as the general events happening in the county. Often, students desperately want change and feel that their voices aren’t being heard by faculty, and that their student representative isn’t taking a strong enough stand to address these issues. Boyko’s plan for addressing this problem is to reintroduce monthly SMOB videos and newsletters. “This video would go on morning announcements at schools, bringing back the monthly SMOB newsletter, but then also making sure that our board addresses issues in the community to the full extent,” Boyko said.
Additionally, to address specific student concerns, he said he will keep his email and direct messages (DMs) open and provide responses within 24 hours, ensuring students receive timely and direct answers to their questions. Boyko also plans to take advantage of various other features of social media apps, such as Instagram polls. “So for these polls, they would be just quick, there’s an Instagram feature for your story where you can just do a poll saying, Do you like? What do you think about school meals, good or bad? And then that’s just an example, but people will just click the button on the story to provide just rapid feedback,” Boyko said. This idea reverts to the previous SMOB, Sami Saeed’s, use of polls during board presentations and meetings to drive student engagement. It expresses Boyko’s drive to understand MOCO students and truly connect with their issues.
When looking at a new era of the Board of Education under Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor, the next SMOB must be able to bring forward new ideas and perspectives to MCPS policy. The Tide’s Editorial Board views Peter Boyko as a candidate who will start strong from day one and will be able to enact realistic and meaningful change in our community. With a focus on local issues, such as school safety, while being conscious of global issues like climate change, Bokoyo can bring multiple perspectives to his policy and advocacy. “My whole vision for a better MCPS prioritizes students, and that starts with prioritizing their lives. My platform is robust and is centered around real, tangible solutions,” Boyko said. “I have a lot of ideas. I plan to work as hard as possible to get as much done in one year as possible, but also hope to plant the seeds of change for future SMOBs to continue my work.”
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