School board appoints Taylor as new MCPS superintendent

The county school board voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Thomas Taylor as the new superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools for a four-year term. The appointment comes after a four-month search following the resignation of the previous superintendent.

“We are pleased to appoint Dr. Thomas Taylor as superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools,” said School Board President Karla Silvestre. Her announcement was met with enthusiastic applause in a packed boardroom at district headquarters in Rockville.

Taylor, who served as superintendent of Stafford County Public Schools in Virginia, will begin his new job on Monday.

Taylor sat in the front row of the conference room and stood during the appointment but did not speak. Silvestre assured the crowd that he would have “ample opportunity to address the community” after taking office.

“The Board is confident in Dr. Taylor’s leadership and looks forward to working with him to support all students and staff,” Silvestre said.

Taylor, who graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in 1996 and also attended Somerset Elementary School in Chevy Chase and Westland Middle School in Bethesda, was first announced last Monday as the school board’s choice for the superintendent position.

The announcement marked the culmination of a four-month, nationwide search after former MCPS Superintendent Monifa McKnight resigned on Feb. 2. It was the board’s second superintendent search in the past three years.

Taylor has nearly 25 years of experience in public education, including six years as a school superintendent. He holds a doctorate in education from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in business administration from the College of William and Mary.

Taylor most recently served as superintendent of Stafford County Public Schools, the eighth-largest school district in Virginia. According to its website, Stafford has 33 schools, more than 31,000 students and more than 4,300 employees.

In Montgomery County, Taylor will oversee Maryland’s largest school district, which consists of 211 schools, approximately 160,000 students and approximately 25,000 employees.

“I spent my entire schooling in Montgomery County from kindergarten through 12th grade,” Taylor told MoCo360 before the board announced his nomination. “So I’m also from Montgomery County and I’m excited to be back here.”

Former MCPS administrator Monique Felder has served as interim superintendent following McKnight’s departure. She resigned in February amid uproar surrounding the school system’s mismanagement of complaints of sexual harassment and bullying against Joel Beidleman, a former middle school principal.

In March of this year, MCPS released the terms of McKnight’s separation agreement with the school board after MoCo360 and other local media outlets made Freedom of Information Act requests. According to MCPS, McKnight was to receive a total of $1.3 million from the school district.

The school board appointed Felder as interim superintendent until June 30 while it searched for a new district superintendent, which led to the hiring of Taylor.

“In appointing (Taylor), my colleagues and I would like to take a special moment to recognize Dr. Monique Felder’s work in providing stability to MCPS during her time as interim superintendent,” Silvestre said Tuesday. “Dr. Felder has guided us through an important transition period with her steady and thoughtful leadership. We express our appreciation for Dr. Felder’s service and wish her well in her future endeavors.”

Before the board announced his impending appointment, Taylor spoke to MoCp360 about how he would approach the task.

“I hope that people can expect a lot of energy from me, that they can expect me to be a good listener and that they can expect to see me,” Taylor told MoCo360 before he was appointed. “And that I want to be accessible in the community. And that I want to hear what they have to say because it’s their children and their school system. I especially want students to feel like they have a voice and that they are empowered to take control of their destiny and their future.”

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