The following announcement was submitted by the Montgomery County Public School System's office of public information: 

John Mannes, a junior at Northwest High School, was elected the 35^th Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB) on Wednesday. His term begins in July. 

All secondary school students were eligible to vote in the election of the SMOB on Wednesday and more than 85 percent cast ballots. Mannes received 62.9 percent of the vote. 

Mannes is active in the Montgomery County Region of the Maryland Association of Student Councils, serving as chief of staff and deputy special elections administrator. He has also served as the legislative chair for the Montgomery Youth Advisory Council, has raised money for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network and has been involved in political campaigns. 

Mannes will be sworn in on Monday, July 2, 2012.

Alan Xie, a senior at Richard Montgomery High School, is the current SMOB. 

The SMOB is a voting member of the Board of Education, and can cast votes on all items, with the exception of boundary changes, the capital and operating budgets, collective bargaining, negative personnel matters and school closings. The SMOB receives a $5,000 college scholarship, student service learning hours and one honors-level social studies credit. 

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