MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — The Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent says she will defend her reputation.
On Monday, Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight, sent out the following statement:
Officers from the Board of Education indicated last week their desire for me to step away from my role as superintendent, providing me with no justification for their request. The Board has never written, documented, or communicated any concern about my performance, and through the evaluation process has consistently affirmed that I have met expectations. For these reasons, I'm concerned that its actions are based on something other than my performance, which would constitute a violation of my contract. I will defend my reputation and my decades-long commitment to the students and families of MCPS, and will demand that any considerations of my role as superintendent are made through a fair, legitimate, and legal process — anything less would be unacceptable.
She didn't clarify exactly when or where the school board made the comments, and the Montgomery County School board didn't clarify either.
They held a closed session meeting Monday night, to receive legal advice regarding a personnel matter regarding the status of employment for an employee.
About 45 minutes after the meeting ended, the board sent out this statement:
The Board is aware of Dr. McKnight’s recent statement to the media regarding her employment. The Board continues to fulfill its role as an employer. This is a personnel matter and in alignment with laws related to personnel matters, we, as her employer will not be providing further comment at this time. The Board of Education remains committed to the success of all students and staff and will continue to meet our public commitment to ensure MCPS delivers an exceptional educational experience.
The school system most recently came under fire last year for their handling of sexual harassment allegations against one of the principals.
In September, the Office of the Montgomery County Inspector General (OIG) announced that it would open two investigations related to allegations against Farquhar Middle School Principal Dr. Joel Beidleman and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) handling of misconduct complaints. Officials claimed he was unanimously promoted during a June meeting to become the principal at an area high school – all while being under investigation for sexual harassment.
You can read more about that investigation here.
"It's basically the Real Housewives of Rockville at the moment. It's a big soap opera," said Janis Zink Sartucci, a member of the Parents Coalition.
She told WUSA9 that this is "a huge distraction," and said "whatever is going on and whoever was involved, the school board should just handle it."
Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando, who chairs the education committee told WUSA9 Monday night that Dr. McKnight was still the superintendent, and expected to still be the superintendent Tuesday.
"I was surprised, but the process has to play out and Dr. McKnight just like any other employee is entitled to due process," he said of what she wrote in her statement.
He told WUSA9 he hasn't been made aware of what the school board has said to Dr. McKnight, or what their plans are, but added there's a lot of things coming up for the school system.
"We're waiting on an inspector general report that's gonna come out here very soon on the Biedleman matter. There were clearly mistakes made there by folks all across the system," said Councilmember Jawando.