Prince George's County school board chair says she will continue her duties amid calls for resignation
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. - Prince George's County school board chair has responded to the county executive's request for her resignation.
In a four-minute video, Dr. Juanita Miller says she will continue to serve in the role she was appointed to by County Executive Angela Alsobrooks in January 2021.
"I will continue to fulfill my duties as board chair with transparency, integrity, and dedication to principle," Miller says in the video. "It is important that the accusations were inspired by those whose goals have been to divert attention from the accomplishments of our staff and students. Instead of embracing and celebrating the graduating class of 2022, celebrating a national award in recognition for our language immersion program, celebrating the international award for our alternative school construction funding program culminating with the opening of six brand-new schools in fall 2023."
"And in addition, the distractions overshadow the other accomplishments made during my tenure including our award-winning board-focused work group on climate action. Like me, there are many school board members that approach the work of the board in a professional, thoughtful and principle manner," she continued. "There is a small group of school board that have not embraced nor embody these values."
SUBSCRIBE TO FOX 5 DC ON YOUTUBE
On Thursday, Alsobrooks released a letter she had written to Miller calling for her to resign.
Her request came after the Maryland Board of Education filed charges of removal against Miller.
FOX 5 was the first to report the Board's suit last week.
In the letter dated June 1, Alsobrooks wrote, "Now is the time for a fresh start."
RELATED: State may remove Prince George's County school board chair
Last week, Miller told FOX 5's Lindsay Watts she had no plans to resign.
When asked if she would resign, Miller replied, "Why should I?"
She reaffirmed those sentiments in Friday's video.
"I believe that by allowing the process afforded me by the laws and procedures governing the state board of education actions the public will have the opportunity to evaluate the suspiciousness and lack of merit underlining these unfounded and frivolous charges," Miller said. "In the interim, I will continue my effort to facilitate the work of Prince George's County Board of Education. As I have previously stated, for the foreseeable future my focus will be to continue to advance the board of education's mission serving students, staff, stakeholders, and families of Prince George's County Public Schools."
RELATED: PGCPS board chair wants to stop board meetings while board is investigated
Last year, six elected Prince Georges County school board members petitioned to remove Dr. Miller.
It was after Dr. Miller canceled school board meetings during the pandemic, saying the meetings couldn’t go on due to misconduct claims she made about those elected board members.
There was also a bitter feud over hiring a board attorney that caused the board to go without legal counsel for months, something board members said violated state law.
There is a high threshold to remove a board member from office that includes: misconduct in office, immorality, incompetency, and willful neglect of duty.
Watch Dr. Miller's response to the allegations below: