In wake of MCPS superintendent's resignation request, community leaders call for transparency
ROCKVILLE, Md. - Local group leaders are calling for transparency amid reports that the Montgomery County School Board is pushing for the resignation of Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight.
Superintendent McKnight claims officers on the board "indicated last week their desire for me to step away from my role as superintendent, providing me with no justification for their request." She claims the board has never written, documented, or communicated any concern about her performance.
FOX 5 has spent the past two days reaching out to all eight board members for comment on McKnight’s claims. On Wednesday, Board President Karla Silvestre spoke with FOX 5 but remained guarded on specific details, citing personnel privacy.
Silvestre confirmed the executive session members were a part of Tuesday was related to "employee matters" but did not specify whether it was related to McKnight and her claims.
The executive session was held immediately after a budget meeting, which was filled with people supporting McKnight.
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Linda Plummer, president of the NAACP’s Montgomery County branch, stood outside with signs Wednesday in support of McKnight.
"We are not going to stand by and let them denigrate an outstanding administrator, an outstanding individual," Plummer said.
McKnight said this week, she wanted a fair process in the matter.
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FOX 5 asked Silvestre what a "fair process" could look like Wednesday, and we were told it could include performance reviews along with verbal and written communication.
This is provided to any employee, according to Silvestre, though McKnight said she has never gotten that level of communication, indicating there were problems with her performance.
"We’re going to try to communicate as much as possible going forward. Again, respecting … I really ask for patience and understanding in terms of not being able to release the details because we want to protect the privacy of the employee," Silvestre said.
Janis Zink Sartucci, a member of a parents’ coalition serving as a watchdog over Montgomery County schools, said she wasn’t surprised at the board’s response this week.
"These are elected officials who have forgotten how they got into office. They all need to be voted out. This is absolutely unacceptable. They’re not accountable to the voters of Montgomery County. They were put into office to do a job. They are countable to the voters, and they need to be responsive to the voters," Zink Sartucci said. "It’s like a theatre, and I’m not sure who they think they’re fooling, but again, the public is looking for answers and the public is looking for this to stop."
This week, Montgomery County Education Association leaders said they felt the board was justified in their calls for resignation, citing "serious problems" in McKnight’s leadership.
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