Many high school students have their sights set on college. Corey Andrews has his eye on the school board.

Andrews, 17, is a senior at Howard High School, and while he plans to attend Howard Community College next year, he’s also one of 15 people vying for a seat on the Howard County Board of Education in the upcoming election.

Firsthand experience in the school system is part of what Andrews thinks strengthens him as a candidate, having attended Rockburn Elementary and Elkridge Landing Middle School before moving on to Howard.

“I bring the student perspective,” said Andrews in a phone interview with Elkridge Patch.

Last year, Andrews was on a committee that drafted the gang policy for the Howard County Public School System, he said, and he’s been involved in the Howard County Association of Student Councils and Student Government Association. 

He also served on the campaign for current school board member Brian Meshkin.

“That’s what made me want to do this,” said Andrews. 

Another motivation for running was dissatisfaction with the status quo.

“It was frustrating to hear the board not listen to public input," said Andrews, recalling a recent meeting. "Five people had gone up to discuss some issue, and the board just ignored them."

He said he hopes to give the public more of a voice.

"A lot of public officials get elected and they sort of detach themselves," said Andrews. "I'm not running to represent myself."

Andrews, who supports the idea of electing candidates by district, said he hopes that the geographic makeup of the board becomes more diverse.

“None of the board members live in Elkridge or near Elkridge,” said Andrews, a third generation Elkridgean.

He questioned whether people living outside of Elkridge understood challenges like not having a high school and learning on overcrowded campuses.

“Our schools are supposed to be community schools, and Howard High School is not a community school,” said Andrews, whose trip to school is 20 minutes.

"Overcrowding in schools is a big issue in the eastern part of the county," said Andrews. "In 2010 there were a few candidates who wanted to deal with overcrowding not by redistricting but by building new schools," a solution he would advocate for as well.

Read more about Andrews' views on his blog.