UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Several members of the Prince George’s County Board of Education are calling for three leaders of the school system to step down after a series of major issues have shaken the county.
The board members are calling for resignations from Prince George’s County Public Schools CEO Kevin Maxwell, board chair Segun Eubanks and vice chair Carolyn Boston.
“It is impossible to govern this system when no one trusts you,” said board member Edward Burroughs, who is one of four board members calling for these resignations.
One resignation came earlier this week for Maxwell’s chief of staff Greg Margolies after an email obtained by WTOP’s broadcast partners at NBC Washington revealed that Margolies had argued with a board member about keeping Head Start issues off the board’s agenda.
Right before this school year started, the county’s school system was forced to relinquish more than $6 million in federal funding for its Head Start program after a scathing federal report detailed incidents of abuse and poor teacher training.
Maxwell asked Margolies to step down from his position Wednesday. And Maxwell has said, “This email does not constitute evidence of a conspiracy or cover up; it was solely about the format of how information is shared with the board.”
Burroughs, who has been critical of Maxwell’s handling of the loss of the Head Start grant and allegations of abuse by school staff members, disagreed.
The email showed that the three leaders had kept the rest of the board in the dark about the allegations involving the Head Start program until it was too late, he said. Referencing Margolies’ email, he says it discusses a compromise between the board leaders and the CEO to conceal the correspondence and actions taken after problems with the Head Start program were pointed out by the Administration of Children and Families.
Those pushing for the ouster of Maxwell, Eubanks and Boston believe they should have been made more aware of the situation.
“Being told that — that email had nothing to do with a cover up — is an insult to our intelligence,” said board member Verjeana Jacobs.
Ultimately, the decision to remove the schools’ chief lies with Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, who has sided with Maxwell and said he doesn’t believe the current CEO should step down.
