Two former members of the Montgomery County school board say the interim superintendent, Monifa McKnight, should be appointed to lead the state’s largest school system for the next four years “effective immediately.”
In a letter to the current Montgomery County Board of Education, Michael Durso, who served on the school board from 2009 to 2018, and Jeanette Dixon, who served from 2016 to 2020, urged the current board of education to hire McKnight, saying she is “the right person for this time.”
Durso and Dixon wrote that McKnight and the current school board members have been under “excessive scrutiny and criticism” over COVID-19 protocols and changes to school operations.
On Jan. 9, McKnight issued a public apology to the school community, stating that while the system dealt with bus driver and substitute teacher shortages, they should have done a better job sharing information about those challenges.
“I apologize for any stress this caused our staff, students, and community members,” McKnight said.
The two former board members, who also served as school principals, wrote that McKnight “knows and loves” the school district and cited her familiarity with the sprawling system, saying that it would be a mistake for the current school board to hire from outside the district.
McKnight was named interim superintendent after Jack Smith retired in June. Smith, who had led the school system as superintendent since being hired in 2016, had negotiated a second four-year contract that was set to expire in 2024, but announced last February that he’d be retiring.
In a phone interview with WTOP, Dixon said that when McKnight agreed to take the job as deputy superintendent, prior to filling the job of Interim school chief, she told McKnight she’d been waiting for her for two years.
“She has very high expectations for students and staff,” Dixon said, adding: “She’s not afraid to make changes. She’s not afraid to admit something’s not working.”
Dixon and Durso wrote that McKnight stepped in to create a smooth end to the 2020-2021 school year, that she has worked carefully with stakeholders and that she — in their words — has not been given “the time and unquestioned support they gave to past male superintendents.”
Asked to elaborate on that statement, Dixon simply said she would stand by that comment, then added, “Other than Dr. [Paul] Vance, all of the superintendents of the school system have been white males.”
Vance — who served as superintendent from 1991 to 1999 — was the first African American to serve in that position in the Montgomery County school system. McKnight, if appointed, would be the first African American woman to serve in that spot.
Dixon said she’s has already received feedback on the letter.
“I have had people write me and say they agree with me 100%,” she said. But asked If she heard from any of the current school board members, she replied, “I don’t feel I should go there.”
The Montgomery County Education Association held a “no confidence” vote on the school system’s leadership, including the school board, and Dixon said she’s heard from teachers and understands they are frustrated.
“The job is very, very difficult” she said, referring to teachers and concerns about school operations during a pandemic. “These sorts of things are happening in systems all over the country,” said Dixon.
WTOP has reached out to Montgomery County Public schools for a response to the letter.
