Former MCPS superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight will be paid a total of $1.3 million, according to the separation agreement between her and the Board of Education released Friday afternoon, March 15. McKnight, who resigned in a “mutual separation” with the Board on Feb. 2, signed the separation agreement on Feb. 28. 

Specifics of the deal include a mutual non-disparagement agreement, an agreement by McKnight not to sue MCPS and McKnight receiving the right to send her son to MCPS schools, even if she moves out of the county. The deal also applies to all successors on the Board. 

McKnight will be paid a total of $1,183,250 in wages, along with various other amounts of money for legal fees and her retirement plan, summing to exactly $1.3 million. The first of two lump sum payments was made shortly after the signing of the agreement, and the second payment will be made on or before January 31, 2025. 

Prior to her resignation, McKnight had been paid an annual salary of $320,000. The separation agreement equates to approximately four years of pay. McKnight had had approximately two years and five months left on her contract when she resigned. 

The Board voted to change the scope of the Woodward High School construction project at its meeting on March 19 to add a new Phase III to the project, which would delay building an auditorium for the building until new funding is approved. The newly constructed Crown High School in Gaithersburg also had its auditorium construction delayed. 

The change was made to keep the overall schedule for construction for Woodward High School on time, with the estimated $22.5 million for auditorium construction omitted. 

“If you don’t start, you’re not gonna finish in that 2027 timeline … and these were the two pieces that really from an affordability standpoint, you could pull out and move forward with the project,” Associate Superintendent of the Office of Facilities Management Seth Adams said. 

Northwood High School will be moving into the semi-completed building after Phase I construction this fall as it undergoes its own renovation.

Woodward is scheduled to open as its own school to alleviate crowding at WJ and surrounding clusters in fall 2027, although whether it will open with an auditorium is unknown. Adams also dispelled rumors that Woodward would host a performing arts magnet program, saying Woodward would be a “arts infusion school.”

At its regular business meeting on Tuesday, March 19, the Board again punted on making financial literacy a graduation requirement, electing to come back to the issue in January 2025. 

The Board first explored financial literacy in November 2021, when then-student member of the Board Hana O’Looney passed a resolution directing the superintendent to explore the feasibility of making financial literacy a graduation requirement. 

Since then, the Board on June 7, 2022, and May 25, 2023, voted to continue monitoring student participation in elective financial literacy courses and on June 6, 2023, passed an amended version of the 2021 resolution calling for the superintendent to again study the feasibility of a financial literacy graduation requirement. 

The report presented at Tuesday’s meeting concluded that financial literacy was not feasible as a graduation requirement with time needed to consider budget and staffing concerns. According to the report, requiring financial literacy would cost the district an estimated $2.85 million. 

Another part of the reason given for delaying a decision again was to evaluate the impact of the expanded 1.0 credit for health for the class of 2025 and beyond, and the end-of-course exams in biology and government rolling out this year. 

The Board voted to preliminarily approve amendments to policy IKB - Homework at its meeting on March 19, amending the policy for the first time since 1986. 

Much of the revisions to the policy were led by student member of the Board Sami Saeed, who proposed changes like adding language to communicate the need for meaningful and purposefully-designed homework as opposed to homework for homeworks’ sake. 

Saeed also proposed including language to emphasize teachers should, when possible, go over homework in class and avoid homework assigned on weekends. However, these proposals were tabled until after the public comment period. 

“Homework is something that I have a passion about, since day one … and students are already in school for 35 to 40 hours [per week], they get homework on top of that, they get extracurriculars on top of that. So I really do believe the weekend is that time where students can have rest and relaxation,” Saeed said. 

The proposed policy now goes out to the public for comments, with public comment scheduled to close on April 24. The policy will return to the policy management committee on May 16, and if approved, presented to the full Board for approval afterwards. 

MCPS announced a slate of three in-person forums for the community to provide feedback on what it believes are the most important characteristics for the new superintendent to have. 

Following the resignation of former superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight in February, Dr. Monique Felder has served as interim superintendent.  It is unclear if Felder intends to apply for the permanent position. 

However, the Board plans to appoint a permanent superintendent by July 1, which is the deadline by state law for superintendent appointments to be finalized for the upcoming school year. 

The Board first plans to hire a search firm to help them find a superintendent, and is expected to hire Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, Ltd. for their search. MCPS has hired HYA for every single superintendent search since at least 1999, including in 2011, 2015 and 2021, when McKnight was hired.  

The three events will be held April 2 at Seneca Valley High School, April 3 at Richard Montgomery High School and April 4 at Wheaton High School, all at 6 p.m. 

“I urge all members of our community to participate in the public engagement process, to ensure that their voices are heard,” Board president Karla Silvestre said. 

The annual Student-Athletic Leadership Conference was held on Thursday, March 21 at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg. Over 100 representatives from MCPS high schools met to talk about topics including time management, mental health, leadership and sportsmanship while also participating in fun team-building activities. 

Members of the Student-Athlete Leadership Council organized the event, which featured keynote speaker Dr. Karissa Niehoff, Chief Executive Officer of the National Federation of State High School Associations. 

The representatives from WJ were sophomores Ella Reynolds and Jeremy Silberglied, juniors Lloyd Erim and Ella Hoban and senior Dylan Minnick. 

“It was such an enjoyable experience and it was very valuable as well. I learned many leadership skills around areas such as mental health and sportsmanship that I will definitely use these skills in the future,” Reynolds said.