Why is MCCPTA Defending McKnight?
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Anonymous
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https://moco360.media/2024/01/22/what-did-mcps-mcknight-know-about-harassment-scandal-and-when-did-she-know-it/
It is in the interest of students and teachers to have MCPS leadership with a zero tolerance for sexual harassment and abuse. MCCPTA should have at least made that clear as the number one priority of its organization while waiting to learn more facts about the dynamic between the BOE and McKnight. I am not normally thrilled with MCEA but their statement was much more on point. |
Anonymous
| Cite your reason for thinking MCCPTA is defending McKnight. Just because they haven’t released a statement like MCEA just did? |
Anonymous
| Because MCCPTA is a joke. It's a bunch of people who have controlled it forever and only pick their pet projects to support. They need to go and let new people take over. |
Anonymous
They did release a statement. In this article: https://moco360.media/2024/01/22/mcps-superintendent-monifa-mcknight-fights-ouster/ |
Anonymous
| MCCPTA is really reading the room poorly. It looks bad on them, really. |
Anonymous
| They are not supporting anything they are stating fact. If you haven’t provide her with either low performance evaluation or some misconduct that would lead to resignation/firing it does start to look political and PR related. Which is not helpful to students and families, particularly since it will make it more difficult to get quality replacement candidates. |
Anonymous
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MCCPTA is not defending McKnight at all. It's defending the right of school staff to have due process, which is bigger than any individual case, as you can appreciate. This is literally their JOB. PTA = parents and teachers association. I agree with both MCCPTA and MCEA. I'm sure everyone will be glad to see the back of McKnight. |
Anonymous
Cathy Stocker, the Vice President of Education at the Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (MCCPTA) said the news of McKnight fighting her ouster came as a big surprise. While the school board has the right to hire and fire superintendents, Stocker said the MCCPTA is concerned that the decision was made without consulting major stakeholder groups. “They also have another very important responsibility which is to clearly articulate expectations and deadlines and consequences to the executive leading the school system,” Stocker said. “And if the Board of Education did not, in fact, offer feedback and directly express to the superintendent the concerns of constituents or their own concerns, this kind of action runs the risk of looking politically expedient instead of a necessary action that serves their long term strategic plan and vision.” “Our preference is that our collective time energy and money and money should be focused on the needs of our students,” she added. “And this kind of public spat between the Board of Education and the superintendent of schools is not serving our students.” The county’s teachers’ union, the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), released a statement on Monday evening which said its members believe the school board to be justified in seeking McKnight’s resignation. MCEA stated that members have seen “serious problems” with the superintendent’s leadership and that McKnight was “more concerned with protecting herself and her close associates than with doing right by front-line staff and students.” “The superintendent’s overseeing body, the board, is no doubt aware of confidential information that caused them to determine this drastic step is necessary,” the statement continued. “In declaring open war with the board, Dr. McKnight threatens to further damage not only her own future, but also the board’s efforts to restore the public’s trust in Montgomery County Public Schools.” |
Anonymous
Wrong link. It is the other article https://moco360.media/2024/01/22/mcps-superintendent-monifa-mcknight-fights-ouster/ |
Anonymous
OK sure but that is an odd number one priority for an organization representing students, parents and teachers. |
Anonymous
| Didn’t the complaints against Biedelman go back all the way to 2016? Wasn’t the board responsible for oversight and failed to follow up on those complaints? Why is McKnight now taking the fall- has she been linked to the Hull/Key recriminations against Walker? What changed? |
Anonymous
??? If you think a little more, you'll realize it's actually very important. What if you have school staff unjustly accused? Surely you'd want them to have due process? All this may seem like boring red tape to you... but it's the basis of all our institutions. |
Anonymous
We have no idea. But presumably the BOE does. So why come out with a statement calling this a "spat"? There could be something serious going on. MCCPTA: condemn sexual harassment in schools ffs, demand accountability of all involved with these disturbing allegations, if confirmed, and wait for more facts. |
Anonymous
| She is superintendent of schools. She is under contract to the board. She serves at the pleasure of the board. She is not a teacher entitled to due process. The board can terminate her contract and pay it out, or whatever her contract says. That’s what happens when you serve at the pleasure. |
Anonymous
And the MCCPTA rightly doesn't want the chaos of a revolving door of superintendents getting contracted and paid out. |