Anonymous wrote:I’m confused what’s wrong with this email? He said he’s following the data and not emotions.

What’s wrong with that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam Pagnucco posted an email that was forwarded to him from a community member who engaged with Taylor after Md. State Senator Cheryl Kagan criticized MCPS and Taylor for their decisions on Wootton. The response to the community member was quite revealing and Pagnucco reprinted it since he felt it revealed something about Taylor's character and/or his state of mind.

SOURCE: https://montgomeryperspective.com/2026/02/23/taylor-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen-they-fire-me/

Taylor’s email to the reader is printed below.

*****

This really means a lot. The data is what the data is – I can’t change it. Politicians who chest-thump is nothing new in Montgomery County. I work for politicians, but I am not one and I also don’t wobble when they fuss (this makes them uncomfortable). Been doing this a long time…what’s the worst that could happen? They fire me? …great! Maybe I’ll get a full night’s sleep for once. 🙂

In all seriousness, the state has no role in this, especially individual legislators. We’ll get through this. And yes – Magruder finally has a clear path! They will be in the next CIP…I just wish it didn’t take so dang long to get stuff done around here.

Again, thanks for reaching out. Onward…!

All my best,

Thomas

Oh, I like him now.
I didn’t really have an opinion of him before, but now...

How is it that all the I love Taylor posts haven't been able to name one thing they like about him except this one email?

The thing they like about him is that he is anti-parent. The people who love Taylor hate the parents and students they're supposed to serve.

I'd give Taylor a mixed review. He's made choices or proposals I support, choices I don't, and choices I have no feeling about because they don't concern me. I think you've nailed his supporters here, at least, with this comment. Look at the person posting in every thread with comments about "Mad Mommies," as if it's inherently insulting to be a parent who has opinions about the schools.

I'm not sold that Taylor himself has this attitude, but the email does give me pause. He talks about the opinions of politicians who "fuss," but the criticism of closing Wootton is coming from politicians because it's how their constituents feel. I don't care about Wootton in particular, but the Superintendent should be responsive to the concerns of parents when making a big change like that. It doesn't necessarily mean making a different choice, but I don't love how it seems like he's thinking about the response to the proposal.

Correct.

In Montgomery County, every decision will have supporters and detractors. That's a given. But Taylor and MCPS typically run afoul by not being transparent, honest and consistent with their own rules and policies.

Taylor is signaling here that he doesn't care about being fair or consistent and believes that he alone knows what's best for everyone.

The politicians are doing their job of advocating on behalf of their constituents. That he doesn't respect the political process and roles and responsibilities of the public and elected officials is troubling.

A sign of a dictator is when they attack politicians for doing their job. Beware of Taylor.

From working in MCPS and hearing stories of how he is in meetings with supervisors who have tried to present data and explain why the changes he's making are a bad idea, this fits exactly. I've been told he has no curiosity for understanding how/why things are the way they are, which could help him pinpoint the actual issues that need changing. Instead, the philosophy is that he knows best and you are gaslit if you say, for example "it's harder to do X job because you cut X positions last year" and the response is just "no, I actually gave more support to X area." Just blatantly false statements that can be debunked by his own budget. However TT and his minions are great at doublespeak and are very insistent that the natural consequences of his choices just haven't happened or couldn't possibly happen. This is why so many people have fled central office positions. Not just people whose positions were cut but people in the mid level who keep the system afloat with their institutional knowledge are over the incompetency. You now have people running things who literally know nothing about their area/programs. I think TT and co see this as a positive to "root out" the naysayers. It's all going to come crashing down eventually when you wind up with no one with any expertise!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly this makes me like him more. I like that he’s not afraid to challenge the politicians and wont roll over for them.

He won’t roll over for the Board of Education, the State Board of Education, the Inspector General or the Maryland Courts. No one is going to tell him what to do and laws don’t apply. Brilliant.

NP. That's not what I took away from his statement. I think that when we have someone who can't think but rather only reacts to politicians and groups who think they have special influence, we don't have free thinkers. I am a fan. He has a backbone. He realizes he won't make everyone happy. But he's trying to do what he thinks is best for our kids and community given the resources he has at his disposal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly this makes me like him more. I like that he’s not afraid to challenge the politicians and wont roll over for them.

He won’t roll over for the Board of Education, the State Board of Education, the Inspector General or the Maryland Courts. No one is going to tell him what to do and laws don’t apply. Brilliant.

NP. That's not what I took away from his statement. I think that when we have someone who can't think but rather only reacts to politicians and groups who think they have special influence, we don't have free thinkers. I am a fan. He has a backbone. He realizes he won't make everyone happy. But he's trying to do what he thinks is best for our kids and community given the resources he has at his disposal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly this makes me like him more. I like that he’s not afraid to challenge the politicians and wont roll over for them.

He won’t roll over for the Board of Education, the State Board of Education, the Inspector General or the Maryland Courts. No one is going to tell him what to do and laws don’t apply. Brilliant.

NP. That's not what I took away from his statement. I think that when we have someone who can't think but rather only reacts to politicians and groups who think they have special influence, we don't have free thinkers. I am a fan. He has a backbone. He realizes he won't make everyone happy. But he's trying to do what he thinks is best for our kids and community given the resources he has at his disposal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like his style.

All Trump supporters do.

DP. I like it too and I voted for Harris, Biden and Obama twice (yes, really. Ask Jeff. I’ve been here for years and have been totally consistent).

Now wipe that egg off your face. It’s not a good look.

With such conviction, why aren’t you in front of the Board of Education giving public comment?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly this makes me like him more. I like that he’s not afraid to challenge the politicians and wont roll over for them.

He won’t roll over for the Board of Education, the State Board of Education, the Inspector General or the Maryland Courts. No one is going to tell him what to do and laws don’t apply. Brilliant.

NP. That's not what I took away from his statement. I think that when we have someone who can't think but rather only reacts to politicians and groups who think they have special influence, we don't have free thinkers. I am a fan. He has a backbone. He realizes he won't make everyone happy. But he's trying to do what he thinks is best for our kids and community given the resources he has at his disposal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly this makes me like him more. I like that he’s not afraid to challenge the politicians and wont roll over for them.

He won’t roll over for the Board of Education, the State Board of Education, the Inspector General or the Maryland Courts. No one is going to tell him what to do and laws don’t apply. Brilliant.

NP. That's not what I took away from his statement. I think that when we have someone who can't think but rather only reacts to politicians and groups who think they have special influence, we don't have free thinkers. I am a fan. He has a backbone. He realizes he won't make everyone happy. But he's trying to do what he thinks is best for our kids and community given the resources he has at his disposal.

Anonymous wrote:Reading a lot of innuendo and opinions, but not a lot of facts that speak badly for Taylor. Honestly, I think he's doing a good job.

Go fish.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly this makes me like him more. I like that he’s not afraid to challenge the politicians and wont roll over for them.

He won’t roll over for the Board of Education, the State Board of Education, the Inspector General or the Maryland Courts. No one is going to tell him what to do and laws don’t apply. Brilliant.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam Pagnucco posted an email that was forwarded to him from a community member who engaged with Taylor after Md. State Senator Cheryl Kagan criticized MCPS and Taylor for their decisions on Wootton. The response to the community member was quite revealing and Pagnucco reprinted it since he felt it revealed something about Taylor's character and/or his state of mind.

SOURCE: https://montgomeryperspective.com/2026/02/23/taylor-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen-they-fire-me/

Taylor’s email to the reader is printed below.

*****

This really means a lot. The data is what the data is – I can’t change it. Politicians who chest-thump is nothing new in Montgomery County. I work for politicians, but I am not one and I also don’t wobble when they fuss (this makes them uncomfortable). Been doing this a long time…what’s the worst that could happen? They fire me? …great! Maybe I’ll get a full night’s sleep for once. 🙂

In all seriousness, the state has no role in this, especially individual legislators. We’ll get through this. And yes – Magruder finally has a clear path! They will be in the next CIP…I just wish it didn’t take so dang long to get stuff done around here.

Again, thanks for reaching out. Onward…!

All my best,

Thomas

Oh, I like him now.
I didn’t really have an opinion of him before, but now...

How is it that all the I love Taylor posts haven't been able to name one thing they like about him except this one email?

The thing they like about him is that he is anti-parent. The people who love Taylor hate the parents and students they're supposed to serve.

I'd give Taylor a mixed review. He's made choices or proposals I support, choices I don't, and choices I have no feeling about because they don't concern me. I think you've nailed his supporters here, at least, with this comment. Look at the person posting in every thread with comments about "Mad Mommies," as if it's inherently insulting to be a parent who has opinions about the schools.

I'm not sold that Taylor himself has this attitude, but the email does give me pause. He talks about the opinions of politicians who "fuss," but the criticism of closing Wootton is coming from politicians because it's how their constituents feel. I don't care about Wootton in particular, but the Superintendent should be responsive to the concerns of parents when making a big change like that. It doesn't necessarily mean making a different choice, but I don't love how it seems like he's thinking about the response to the proposal.

Correct.

In Montgomery County, every decision will have supporters and detractors. That's a given. But Taylor and MCPS typically run afoul by not being transparent, honest and consistent with their own rules and policies.

Taylor is signaling here that he doesn't care about being fair or consistent and believes that he alone knows what's best for everyone.

The politicians are doing their job of advocating on behalf of their constituents. That he doesn't respect the political process and roles and responsibilities of the public and elected officials is troubling.

A sign of a dictator is when they attack politicians for doing their job. Beware of Taylor.

From working in MCPS and hearing stories of how he is in meetings with supervisors who have tried to present data and explain why the changes he's making are a bad idea, this fits exactly. I've been told he has no curiosity for understanding how/why things are the way they are, which could help him pinpoint the actual issues that need changing. Instead, the philosophy is that he knows best and you are gaslit if you say, for example "it's harder to do X job because you cut X positions last year" and the response is just "no, I actually gave more support to X area." Just blatantly false statements that can be debunked by his own budget. However TT and his minions are great at doublespeak and are very insistent that the natural consequences of his choices just haven't happened or couldn't possibly happen. This is why so many people have fled central office positions. Not just people whose positions were cut but people in the mid level who keep the system afloat with their institutional knowledge are over the incompetency. You now have people running things who literally know nothing about their area/programs. I think TT and co see this as a positive to "root out" the naysayers. It's all going to come crashing down eventually when you wind up with no one with any expertise!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam Pagnucco posted an email that was forwarded to him from a community member who engaged with Taylor after Md. State Senator Cheryl Kagan criticized MCPS and Taylor for their decisions on Wootton. The response to the community member was quite revealing and Pagnucco reprinted it since he felt it revealed something about Taylor's character and/or his state of mind.

SOURCE: https://montgomeryperspective.com/2026/02/23/taylor-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen-they-fire-me/

Taylor’s email to the reader is printed below.

*****

This really means a lot. The data is what the data is – I can’t change it. Politicians who chest-thump is nothing new in Montgomery County. I work for politicians, but I am not one and I also don’t wobble when they fuss (this makes them uncomfortable). Been doing this a long time…what’s the worst that could happen? They fire me? …great! Maybe I’ll get a full night’s sleep for once. 🙂

In all seriousness, the state has no role in this, especially individual legislators. We’ll get through this. And yes – Magruder finally has a clear path! They will be in the next CIP…I just wish it didn’t take so dang long to get stuff done around here.

Again, thanks for reaching out. Onward…!

All my best,

Thomas

Oh, I like him now.
I didn’t really have an opinion of him before, but now...

How is it that all the I love Taylor posts haven't been able to name one thing they like about him except this one email?

The thing they like about him is that he is anti-parent. The people who love Taylor hate the parents and students they're supposed to serve.

I'd give Taylor a mixed review. He's made choices or proposals I support, choices I don't, and choices I have no feeling about because they don't concern me. I think you've nailed his supporters here, at least, with this comment. Look at the person posting in every thread with comments about "Mad Mommies," as if it's inherently insulting to be a parent who has opinions about the schools.

I'm not sold that Taylor himself has this attitude, but the email does give me pause. He talks about the opinions of politicians who "fuss," but the criticism of closing Wootton is coming from politicians because it's how their constituents feel. I don't care about Wootton in particular, but the Superintendent should be responsive to the concerns of parents when making a big change like that. It doesn't necessarily mean making a different choice, but I don't love how it seems like he's thinking about the response to the proposal.

Correct.

In Montgomery County, every decision will have supporters and detractors. That's a given. But Taylor and MCPS typically run afoul by not being transparent, honest and consistent with their own rules and policies.

Taylor is signaling here that he doesn't care about being fair or consistent and believes that he alone knows what's best for everyone.

The politicians are doing their job of advocating on behalf of their constituents. That he doesn't respect the political process and roles and responsibilities of the public and elected officials is troubling.

A sign of a dictator is when they attack politicians for doing their job. Beware of Taylor.

From working in MCPS and hearing stories of how he is in meetings with supervisors who have tried to present data and explain why the changes he's making are a bad idea, this fits exactly. I've been told he has no curiosity for understanding how/why things are the way they are, which could help him pinpoint the actual issues that need changing. Instead, the philosophy is that he knows best and you are gaslit if you say, for example "it's harder to do X job because you cut X positions last year" and the response is just "no, I actually gave more support to X area." Just blatantly false statements that can be debunked by his own budget. However TT and his minions are great at doublespeak and are very insistent that the natural consequences of his choices just haven't happened or couldn't possibly happen. This is why so many people have fled central office positions. Not just people whose positions were cut but people in the mid level who keep the system afloat with their institutional knowledge are over the incompetency. You now have people running things who literally know nothing about their area/programs. I think TT and co see this as a positive to "root out" the naysayers. It's all going to come crashing down eventually when you wind up with no one with any expertise!

This has been happening for years if not decades. We had multiple really good directors leave for other school systems or nonprofit jobs under Smith and McKnight. MCPS has been promoting crony ass-kissers to central office for a long time. I have no idea whether the ones leaving now are good or duds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam Pagnucco posted an email that was forwarded to him from a community member who engaged with Taylor after Md. State Senator Cheryl Kagan criticized MCPS and Taylor for their decisions on Wootton. The response to the community member was quite revealing and Pagnucco reprinted it since he felt it revealed something about Taylor's character and/or his state of mind.

SOURCE: https://montgomeryperspective.com/2026/02/23/taylor-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen-they-fire-me/

Taylor’s email to the reader is printed below.

*****

This really means a lot. The data is what the data is – I can’t change it. Politicians who chest-thump is nothing new in Montgomery County. I work for politicians, but I am not one and I also don’t wobble when they fuss (this makes them uncomfortable). Been doing this a long time…what’s the worst that could happen? They fire me? …great! Maybe I’ll get a full night’s sleep for once. 🙂

In all seriousness, the state has no role in this, especially individual legislators. We’ll get through this. And yes – Magruder finally has a clear path! They will be in the next CIP…I just wish it didn’t take so dang long to get stuff done around here.

Again, thanks for reaching out. Onward…!

All my best,

Thomas

Oh, I like him now.
I didn’t really have an opinion of him before, but now...

How is it that all the I love Taylor posts haven't been able to name one thing they like about him except this one email?

The thing they like about him is that he is anti-parent. The people who love Taylor hate the parents and students they're supposed to serve.

I'd give Taylor a mixed review. He's made choices or proposals I support, choices I don't, and choices I have no feeling about because they don't concern me. I think you've nailed his supporters here, at least, with this comment. Look at the person posting in every thread with comments about "Mad Mommies," as if it's inherently insulting to be a parent who has opinions about the schools.

I'm not sold that Taylor himself has this attitude, but the email does give me pause. He talks about the opinions of politicians who "fuss," but the criticism of closing Wootton is coming from politicians because it's how their constituents feel. I don't care about Wootton in particular, but the Superintendent should be responsive to the concerns of parents when making a big change like that. It doesn't necessarily mean making a different choice, but I don't love how it seems like he's thinking about the response to the proposal.

Correct.

In Montgomery County, every decision will have supporters and detractors. That's a given. But Taylor and MCPS typically run afoul by not being transparent, honest and consistent with their own rules and policies.

Taylor is signaling here that he doesn't care about being fair or consistent and believes that he alone knows what's best for everyone.

The politicians are doing their job of advocating on behalf of their constituents. That he doesn't respect the political process and roles and responsibilities of the public and elected officials is troubling.

A sign of a dictator is when they attack politicians for doing their job. Beware of Taylor.

From working in MCPS and hearing stories of how he is in meetings with supervisors who have tried to present data and explain why the changes he's making are a bad idea, this fits exactly. I've been told he has no curiosity for understanding how/why things are the way they are, which could help him pinpoint the actual issues that need changing. Instead, the philosophy is that he knows best and you are gaslit if you say, for example "it's harder to do X job because you cut X positions last year" and the response is just "no, I actually gave more support to X area." Just blatantly false statements that can be debunked by his own budget. However TT and his minions are great at doublespeak and are very insistent that the natural consequences of his choices just haven't happened or couldn't possibly happen. This is why so many people have fled central office positions. Not just people whose positions were cut but people in the mid level who keep the system afloat with their institutional knowledge are over the incompetency. You now have people running things who literally know nothing about their area/programs. I think TT and co see this as a positive to "root out" the naysayers. It's all going to come crashing down eventually when you wind up with no one with any expertise!