The Montgomery County branch of the NAACP has sent a letter to the Montgomery County Board of Education in support of Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight. In a statement last week, McKnight communicated that the Montgomery County Board of Education indicated their desire for her to step away from her role as Superintendent without providing her with any justification for their request.
The letter to the board of education from the NAACP, which was first published by Montgomery Perspective, can be seen below:
“Dear President Silvestre and Vice President Harris:
On behalf of the Montgomery County Branch of the NAACP, I write to express our support for Superintendent Monifa B. McKnight, Ed.D.
According to press accounts, it appears that the Officers of the Board requested Dr. McKnight’s resignation. If the press accounts are accurate, we find it deeply troubling that such a request would be made without a full and fair opportunity for Dr. McKnight to address any concerns which may have led to this action.
Additionally, if a resignation request was made without providing Dr. McKnight; either a full and fair opportunity to address concerns or a delineation of any deficiencies in her performance, it would appear that such a request is based on factors which are external to Dr. McKnight’s performance and comprise a politically expedient solution to address press reports about systemic failures in the MCPS’s process for handling employee complaints—a process which predates her tenure and for which the Board shares responsibility. In essence, it appears that the Board is attempting to scapegoat Dr. McKnight. We note that expediency is rarely a means to justice and often compromises principle.
Therefore, we urge you to abandon efforts to oust Dr. McKnight and instead focus on empowering her efforts to address the systemic failures of the MCPS process for handling employee complaints. We believe that implementation of a fair and efficient complaint process will benefit the staff and students of Montgomery County Public Schools and bring about greater public trust and individual accountability.
Sincerely,
Linda M. Plummer, President”
