WaPo: Montgomery’s top school leader says district is still reckoning with past mistakes

[Anonymous]

SOURCE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/01/04/montgomery-county-schools-taylor-past-challenges/

Over two years ago, Montgomery County Public Schools was in the center of a scandal. An investigation found school leaders tampered with an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and workplace bullying. Some district parents and employees called for new leadership.

Now, district leaders say they are still working to clean up long-standing problems in Maryland’s largest school system. And some leaders say that it is taking time away from the district’s core mission — academic progress.

“The reality is that MCPS has a fiscal management and accountability problem,” said Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor, who joined the district in 2024. “Those have really bubbled to the top, and in a lot of ways, have surpassed some of the academic challenges that need to be addressed as well.”

The district did not give an estimate on how much has been spent toward all of the fixes, which also involved hiring law firms that conducted several third-party investigations.

The Montgomery school system has been under increased scrutiny by the county government and other groups in recent years. In 2023, an investigation in The Washington Post revealed that administrators improperly handled several reports of alleged misconduct by a middle school principal. The school board asked Monifa B. McKnight, the superintendent at the time, to resign.

The school board then hired Taylor, an alumnus of the Montgomery district, whose most recent superintendent stint was in Stafford County, Virginia, in 2024. They charged Taylor with restoring trust and creating a culture of accountability in the school system.

When he joined the district, he restructured the central office and completely opened up his senior management team — making some employees reapply for their jobs. He said that he is usually against reorganizations but that he felt “there was a real need” because of some of the problems he observed.

Many of the problems have been documented by the Montgomery County inspector general’s office. In August, a review found that about 12,000 of the school system’s estimated 30,000 full-time and part-time employees had outdated criminal history checks. Separately, 4,900 school employees had not undergone a required Child Protective Services check.

The school system estimated it would cost about $2 million to conduct the overdue background checks. Administrators started clearing the backlog at the beginning of the school year, and the district finished fingerprinting and conducting CPS checks for its school-based employees in December. But it has yet to finish checks for central office employees.

Another inspector general review, released in November, found that some of the school system’s procurement practices were not complying with state law. Some purchases exceeding $25,000 were not properly approved by the school board, the report said, and some employees were also hired as suppliers.

Taylor said in a statement at the time that he was “frustrated to continue to discover operational challenges … that should have been corrected long ago.”

This article was a nothingburger and completely let Taylor off the hook for many systemic failures he had direct responsibility over. The voices included in the piece were not critical at all. I'm shocked, because Nicole Asbury should have known better.

Maybe her editors at WaPo are holding her back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/01/04/montgomery-county-schools-taylor-past-challenges/

Over two years ago, Montgomery County Public Schools was in the center of a scandal. An investigation found school leaders tampered with an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and workplace bullying. Some district parents and employees called for new leadership.

Now, district leaders say they are still working to clean up long-standing problems in Maryland’s largest school system. And some leaders say that it is taking time away from the district’s core mission — academic progress.

“The reality is that MCPS has a fiscal management and accountability problem,” said Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor, who joined the district in 2024. “Those have really bubbled to the top, and in a lot of ways, have surpassed some of the academic challenges that need to be addressed as well.”

The district did not give an estimate on how much has been spent toward all of the fixes, which also involved hiring law firms that conducted several third-party investigations.

The Montgomery school system has been under increased scrutiny by the county government and other groups in recent years. In 2023, an investigation in The Washington Post revealed that administrators improperly handled several reports of alleged misconduct by a middle school principal. The school board asked Monifa B. McKnight, the superintendent at the time, to resign.

The school board then hired Taylor, an alumnus of the Montgomery district, whose most recent superintendent stint was in Stafford County, Virginia, in 2024. They charged Taylor with restoring trust and creating a culture of accountability in the school system.

When he joined the district, he restructured the central office and completely opened up his senior management team — making some employees reapply for their jobs. He said that he is usually against reorganizations but that he felt “there was a real need” because of some of the problems he observed.

Many of the problems have been documented by the Montgomery County inspector general’s office. In August, a review found that about 12,000 of the school system’s estimated 30,000 full-time and part-time employees had outdated criminal history checks. Separately, 4,900 school employees had not undergone a required Child Protective Services check.

The school system estimated it would cost about $2 million to conduct the overdue background checks. Administrators started clearing the backlog at the beginning of the school year, and the district finished fingerprinting and conducting CPS checks for its school-based employees in December. But it has yet to finish checks for central office employees.

Another inspector general review, released in November, found that some of the school system’s procurement practices were not complying with state law. Some purchases exceeding $25,000 were not properly approved by the school board, the report said, and some employees were also hired as suppliers.

Taylor said in a statement at the time that he was “frustrated to continue to discover operational challenges … that should have been corrected long ago.”

This article was a nothingburger and completely let Taylor off the hook for many systemic failures he had direct responsibility over. The voices included in the piece were not critical at all. I'm shocked, because Nicole Asbury should have known better.

Maybe her editors at WaPo are holding her back?

Can you talk like a grownup?

Taylor promised fiscal responsibility, transparency, and all the other buzz words, and he's done the opposite. Anything before him, is not his fault but he's made things much worse rather than better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/01/04/montgomery-county-schools-taylor-past-challenges/

Over two years ago, Montgomery County Public Schools was in the center of a scandal. An investigation found school leaders tampered with an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and workplace bullying. Some district parents and employees called for new leadership.

Now, district leaders say they are still working to clean up long-standing problems in Maryland’s largest school system. And some leaders say that it is taking time away from the district’s core mission — academic progress.

“The reality is that MCPS has a fiscal management and accountability problem,” said Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor, who joined the district in 2024. “Those have really bubbled to the top, and in a lot of ways, have surpassed some of the academic challenges that need to be addressed as well.”

The district did not give an estimate on how much has been spent toward all of the fixes, which also involved hiring law firms that conducted several third-party investigations.

The Montgomery school system has been under increased scrutiny by the county government and other groups in recent years. In 2023, an investigation in The Washington Post revealed that administrators improperly handled several reports of alleged misconduct by a middle school principal. The school board asked Monifa B. McKnight, the superintendent at the time, to resign.

The school board then hired Taylor, an alumnus of the Montgomery district, whose most recent superintendent stint was in Stafford County, Virginia, in 2024. They charged Taylor with restoring trust and creating a culture of accountability in the school system.

When he joined the district, he restructured the central office and completely opened up his senior management team — making some employees reapply for their jobs. He said that he is usually against reorganizations but that he felt “there was a real need” because of some of the problems he observed.

Many of the problems have been documented by the Montgomery County inspector general’s office. In August, a review found that about 12,000 of the school system’s estimated 30,000 full-time and part-time employees had outdated criminal history checks. Separately, 4,900 school employees had not undergone a required Child Protective Services check.

The school system estimated it would cost about $2 million to conduct the overdue background checks. Administrators started clearing the backlog at the beginning of the school year, and the district finished fingerprinting and conducting CPS checks for its school-based employees in December. But it has yet to finish checks for central office employees.

Another inspector general review, released in November, found that some of the school system’s procurement practices were not complying with state law. Some purchases exceeding $25,000 were not properly approved by the school board, the report said, and some employees were also hired as suppliers.

Taylor said in a statement at the time that he was “frustrated to continue to discover operational challenges … that should have been corrected long ago.”

This article was a nothingburger and completely let Taylor off the hook for many systemic failures he had direct responsibility over. The voices included in the piece were not critical at all. I'm shocked, because Nicole Asbury should have known better.

Maybe her editors at WaPo are holding her back?

Can you talk like a grownup?

Taylor promised fiscal responsibility, transparency, and all the other buzz words, and he's done the opposite. Anything before him, is not his fault but he's made things much worse rather than better.

Grownups call out news editors who sanitize stories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/01/04/montgomery-county-schools-taylor-past-challenges/

Over two years ago, Montgomery County Public Schools was in the center of a scandal. An investigation found school leaders tampered with an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and workplace bullying. Some district parents and employees called for new leadership.

Now, district leaders say they are still working to clean up long-standing problems in Maryland’s largest school system. And some leaders say that it is taking time away from the district’s core mission — academic progress.

“The reality is that MCPS has a fiscal management and accountability problem,” said Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor, who joined the district in 2024. “Those have really bubbled to the top, and in a lot of ways, have surpassed some of the academic challenges that need to be addressed as well.”

The district did not give an estimate on how much has been spent toward all of the fixes, which also involved hiring law firms that conducted several third-party investigations.

The Montgomery school system has been under increased scrutiny by the county government and other groups in recent years. In 2023, an investigation in The Washington Post revealed that administrators improperly handled several reports of alleged misconduct by a middle school principal. The school board asked Monifa B. McKnight, the superintendent at the time, to resign.

The school board then hired Taylor, an alumnus of the Montgomery district, whose most recent superintendent stint was in Stafford County, Virginia, in 2024. They charged Taylor with restoring trust and creating a culture of accountability in the school system.

When he joined the district, he restructured the central office and completely opened up his senior management team — making some employees reapply for their jobs. He said that he is usually against reorganizations but that he felt “there was a real need” because of some of the problems he observed.

Many of the problems have been documented by the Montgomery County inspector general’s office. In August, a review found that about 12,000 of the school system’s estimated 30,000 full-time and part-time employees had outdated criminal history checks. Separately, 4,900 school employees had not undergone a required Child Protective Services check.

The school system estimated it would cost about $2 million to conduct the overdue background checks. Administrators started clearing the backlog at the beginning of the school year, and the district finished fingerprinting and conducting CPS checks for its school-based employees in December. But it has yet to finish checks for central office employees.

Another inspector general review, released in November, found that some of the school system’s procurement practices were not complying with state law. Some purchases exceeding $25,000 were not properly approved by the school board, the report said, and some employees were also hired as suppliers.

Taylor said in a statement at the time that he was “frustrated to continue to discover operational challenges … that should have been corrected long ago.”

This article was a nothingburger and completely let Taylor off the hook for many systemic failures he had direct responsibility over. The voices included in the piece were not critical at all. I'm shocked, because Nicole Asbury should have known better.

Maybe her editors at WaPo are holding her back?

Can you talk like a grownup?

Taylor promised fiscal responsibility, transparency, and all the other buzz words, and he's done the opposite. Anything before him, is not his fault but he's made things much worse rather than better.

Grownups call out news editors who sanitize stories.

And, they should, but that wasn't what I was referring to.

[Anonymous]

Seems like a pretty clear pattern where Taylor refuses to take responsibility for things that happen under his watch, instead blaming others.

[Anonymous]

He has a lot of problems to fix. Hard to blame him for that. MCPS behaved recklessly when MD had a budget surplus. The $$$$ spent on legal fees are not his fault. I’m still not sure what I think of him but he can only do so much

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/01/04/montgomery-county-schools-taylor-past-challenges/

Over two years ago, Montgomery County Public Schools was in the center of a scandal. An investigation found school leaders tampered with an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and workplace bullying. Some district parents and employees called for new leadership.

Now, district leaders say they are still working to clean up long-standing problems in Maryland’s largest school system. And some leaders say that it is taking time away from the district’s core mission — academic progress.

“The reality is that MCPS has a fiscal management and accountability problem,” said Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor, who joined the district in 2024. “Those have really bubbled to the top, and in a lot of ways, have surpassed some of the academic challenges that need to be addressed as well.”

The district did not give an estimate on how much has been spent toward all of the fixes, which also involved hiring law firms that conducted several third-party investigations.

The Montgomery school system has been under increased scrutiny by the county government and other groups in recent years. In 2023, an investigation in The Washington Post revealed that administrators improperly handled several reports of alleged misconduct by a middle school principal. The school board asked Monifa B. McKnight, the superintendent at the time, to resign.

The school board then hired Taylor, an alumnus of the Montgomery district, whose most recent superintendent stint was in Stafford County, Virginia, in 2024. They charged Taylor with restoring trust and creating a culture of accountability in the school system.

When he joined the district, he restructured the central office and completely opened up his senior management team — making some employees reapply for their jobs. He said that he is usually against reorganizations but that he felt “there was a real need” because of some of the problems he observed.

Many of the problems have been documented by the Montgomery County inspector general’s office. In August, a review found that about 12,000 of the school system’s estimated 30,000 full-time and part-time employees had outdated criminal history checks. Separately, 4,900 school employees had not undergone a required Child Protective Services check.

The school system estimated it would cost about $2 million to conduct the overdue background checks. Administrators started clearing the backlog at the beginning of the school year, and the district finished fingerprinting and conducting CPS checks for its school-based employees in December. But it has yet to finish checks for central office employees.

Another inspector general review, released in November, found that some of the school system’s procurement practices were not complying with state law. Some purchases exceeding $25,000 were not properly approved by the school board, the report said, and some employees were also hired as suppliers.

Taylor said in a statement at the time that he was “frustrated to continue to discover operational challenges … that should have been corrected long ago.”

This article was a nothingburger and completely let Taylor off the hook for many systemic failures he had direct responsibility over. The voices included in the piece were not critical at all. I'm shocked, because Nicole Asbury should have known better.

Maybe her editors at WaPo are holding her back?

Can you talk like a grownup?

Taylor promised fiscal responsibility, transparency, and all the other buzz words, and he's done the opposite. Anything before him, is not his fault but he's made things much worse rather than better.

Grownups call out news editors who sanitize stories.

And, they should, but that wasn't what I was referring to.

So what were you referring to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He has a lot of problems to fix. Hard to blame him for that. MCPS behaved recklessly when MD had a budget surplus. The $$$$ spent on legal fees are not his fault. I’m still not sure what I think of him but he can only do so much

If you read the OIG report on the background check issue, it's very clear that Megan Limarzi did not feel Taylor was blameless in that incident.

[Anonymous]

I'm ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. It's a hard job. The previous Super helped protect a sexual abuser, which got her fired (with comp, which is crazy!). So far, Taylor hasn't sunk that low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. It's a hard job. The previous Super helped protect a sexual abuser, which got her fired (with comp, which is crazy!). So far, Taylor hasn't sunk that low.

You don’t get a $1million+ settlement when you’re fired. Still so ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. It's a hard job. The previous Super helped protect a sexual abuser, which got her fired (with comp, which is crazy!). So far, Taylor hasn't sunk that low.

You don’t get a $1million+ settlement when you’re fired. Still so ridiculous.

Sure, executives do all the time.

But it still seems wild toe that her contract with MCPS had termination provisions that allowed MCPS to terminate early without cause. And the settlement amount greatly exceeded what that termination clause would have provided.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like a pretty clear pattern where Taylor refuses to take responsibility for things that happen under his watch, instead blaming others.

BINGO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He has a lot of problems to fix. Hard to blame him for that. MCPS behaved recklessly when MD had a budget surplus. The $$$$ spent on legal fees are not his fault. I’m still not sure what I think of him but he can only do so much

Instead of fixing things he's going on a spending spree that will clearly not end well. He cannot be blamed for the past but he's been in the position for a year and a half and he can be blamed for whats going on now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He has a lot of problems to fix. Hard to blame him for that. MCPS behaved recklessly when MD had a budget surplus. The $$$$ spent on legal fees are not his fault. I’m still not sure what I think of him but he can only do so much

Was the same courtesy extended to the previous Super or the interim?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He has a lot of problems to fix. Hard to blame him for that. MCPS behaved recklessly when MD had a budget surplus. The $$$$ spent on legal fees are not his fault. I’m still not sure what I think of him but he can only do so much

Was the same courtesy extended to the previous Super or the interim?

I certainly did, and then was outraged when the Beidleman scandal came out.