Oh there were some, but the BOE chose poorly. Clearly the biggest mistake of Jack Smith's career was elevating Monifa McKnight as acting superintendent. The board should not have hired her as a permanent superintendent, but they were afraid of being labeled as racists. There were misgivings among some and they should have held their ground. The board was taken in by Taylor - he does know how to turn on the high-wattage charm, as needed. That is a certain kind of person, I believe. That is why it matters to recruit and elect knowledgeable BOE members. And unfortunately, we see a lot of not great candidates before us this year. Still, they may in the end get it right, when Taylor's reign comes to an end. |
Just wanted to added Loudoun County's superintendent salary too: Aaron Spence $425,334 with an enrollment of 80517 I would rank Loudoun County, both the area and the schools, very highly. So should be added to any comparables when we're looking at MCPS or comparing different school systems. |
| I can say for sure that Dufief parents like him. |
You act as if we were privvy to all of the applicants who applied. It was all done behind closed doors. We have no idea who is or isn't interested in the job. |
Fairfax has a stellar whole-school magnet TJHS. Londoun has Academies of Loundoun where students focus on project-oriented learning and authentic research for half-day everyday for straight 4 years. At MCPS, we have stellar magnet programs producing numerous college professors, wall street traders, high-level officials in federal government and astronauts. Instead of considering expanding it into a whole magnet school, Taylor deteriorates them and claims to build 100 programs with virtually no investment. Now let's discuss whether they should be paid at the current salary level. |
| I don't see any indication that any board member or candidate wants to fire him. |
| When do they make the decision on whether to extend/renew his contract? It's up in summer 2028, right? How far in advance do they usually make the decision? |
This. The whole selection process is a massive secret. There are always lots of candidates, but they are all a secret. Somehow Baltimore is able to have 4 candidates and put them out to meet the public. |
Mrs. Taylor has a nice elevator mansion in Chevy Chase. |
Surrounding area superintendents make more money. $360,000 remains a significant salary. Next MCPS superintendent will probably best that by tens of thousands of dollars. And if we are talking about possible future superintendents to replace Taylor, I would say that Cheryl Dyson in Frederick County is an excellent candidate. She was an area associate superintendent in MCPS previously. She was just reappointed to another term in Frederick County - good for her. |
Could be difficult to sell in a down economy... |
We are not quite there for open discussion of getting rid of Taylor. I'm guessing Fall 2027, when his regional program scheme keels over, after he got rid of consortia programs, and de facto killed magnet programs. |
I think around January/February of that year. |
You think they bypassed a long line of rock star candidates just so they could announce a mediocre pick? Three times in a row? |
| Other school districts announce finalists for the position. We don't do that in Montgomery County? |