Stafford County, Va., schools chief to be new MCPS superintendent (2024)

The Mongomery County Board of Education on Monday named Thomas Taylor, the schools chief in Stafford County, Virginia, as the new head of the county’s public school system.

Taylor, a Montgomery County Public School graduate, is the superintendent of Stafford County Public Schools, where he oversees 33 schools in Virginia’s eighth largest school district. The district serves more than 31,000 students and more than 4,300 employees, according to its website.

Once formally appointed by the school board, Taylor, 46, will oversee the state’s largest school system, which has 211 schools, a student population of more than 160,000 and about 25,000 employees.

“I spent my entire educational upbringing in Montgomery County from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade,” Taylor told MoCo360 before the board’s announcement. “So I too am from Montgomery County and I’m thrilled to be back.”

Monday’s announcement marks the culmination of the district’s months-long nationwide search for a new superintendent following the Feb. 2 resignation of former MCPS Superintendent Monifa McKnight, who received an annual salary of $320,000 as the district’s top official.

The board did not specify what Taylor would be paid. MCPS spokesperson Chris Cram said Taylor’s contract would not be finalized until he is formally appointed by the board on June 25.

Taylor, who graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in 1996, has more than 25 years of experience as an educator, including 12 in district-level leadership and six years as superintendent, according to school board President Karla Silvestre.

In a release, the board described Taylor, who was named Virginia Region III Superintendent of the Year in 2024, as a “strong transformational leader.”

“Dr. Taylor cares deeply about Montgomery County where he was raised and educated,” the board said. “He recognizes the challenges facing MCPS and is ready to lead the district forward.”

In his remarks Monday after the announcement, Taylor said he would focus on school safety, developing mutual trust and transparency–and creating equity for all students regardless of where they live.

“The experience of some students in Gaithersburg is wildly different from the experiences of some students in Potomac,” he said. “We have to name it.”

Though Taylor is coming from a school district with a much smaller budget, he said his finance background has prepared him to supervise the $3.32 billion MCPS spending plan approved for the fiscal year starting July 1.

“The fundamentals don’t change,” he said.

During the interview process, the board noted, Taylor emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability, saying “all things begin and end with the culture leadership creates.”

Taylor, a father of five, said in the board’s release that he and his family are looking forward to moving to the county. In addition to graduating from B-CC High, Taylor attended Somerset Elementary School in Chevy Chase and Westland Middle School in Bethesda.

Taylor holds a doctorate in education from the University of Virginia and a master’s in business administration from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, according to the board.

According to the board’s announcement, Taylor led a “comprehensive approach to student learning” in Stafford County that “emphasizes the learning environment, effective teaching methods, top-notch curriculum, active engagement, fair assessment, high standards, and tailored support for all students.”

He “championed unique opportunities for students to explore career paths while gaining skills and experience,” the announcement said. “He spearheaded the development of specialty centers that focus on in-demand career opportunities and expanded work-based learning career credentialing for students.”

In his career with Stafford County schools and previous service with Chesterfield County public schools, Taylor also employed innovative strategies to foster teaching and leadership talent, including a partnership with the Carnegie Foundation to “create a principal talent management system that improved the principal pipeline, retention, and leadership development,” according to the board.

He also has supported and empowered teaching staff by creating “an open-source curriculum hub where teachers access courses and crowd-sourced teaching materials,” the board said.

Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations President Brigid Howe said she “warmly welcomes” Taylor to MCPS.

“I’m always excited to see fellow MCPS alums achieve great things,” she wrote to MoCo360. “I’m glad to hear his focus on transparency and accountability as that is an area of needed improvement and a priority for MCCPTA members. I also appreciate his lighthearted communications in Stafford County and hope he brings that energy and enthusiasm to MCPS.”

On Friday, the board issued a release saying it would name the new superintendent Monday afternoon. According to the release, the board “conducted a thorough national search that included robust community input. This input helped shape a leadership profile that guided the board during candidate review. Community leaders were also included in the interview process.”

Members considered “a number of experienced, diverse, and highly-qualified candidates,” the release said.

Following the departure of McKnight, the board began conducting the search for a new school superintendent for the second time in three years.

McKnight’s resignation came following the turmoil over the school system’s mishandling of sexual harassment and bullying complaints made against a former middle school principal, Joel Beidleman. In March, MCPS released the terms of McKnight’s separation agreement with the school board following Freedom of Information Act requests by MoCo360 and other local media. McKnight was to receive a total of $1.3 million from the district, MCPS said.

Shortly after McKnight resigned, the board appointed Monique Felder, a former MCPS administrator, to serve as interim superintendent. Felder’s contract is set to expire on June 30. It is not known whether Felder was a candidate for the permanent superintendent post.

During an interview with MoCo360 prior to the announcement, Taylor acknowledged he needed to rebuild trust in MCPS.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that Montgomery County Public Schools has had a rough year. And I think that it’s critically important that the school system build trust with county government and build trust with the community,” he said. “And I think that there’s some things that we can do to increase engagement, increased visibility and to have some shared conversations about what the future direction of Montgomery County is.”

The school board began its nationwide search for a new superintendent in February. In early April, it announced the hiring of Florida-based Greenwood Asher & Associates to conduct the search.

In addition to hiring a search firm, the school board placed a high priority on hearing from residents about what they wanted in the next MCPS superintendent.

The school board held three in-person forums in early April, plus an online forum and focus groups, and conducted a survey. Gathering feedback from the school community was one of the first of three phases in the board’s process for finding a new superintendent.

At the public forums, community members shared that they were looking for an experienced leader and a good communicator who would respect staff and understand the concerns of the district’s community.

The public’s feedback was recorded by school board members, MCPS leaders and staff and then aggregated to create a leadership profile. The profile was expected to be used to help the search firm and the board as it interviewed and selected candidates, according to school board Chief of Staff Lori-Chris Webb.

In May the school board reviewed candidate applications and interviews were held in June.

Since the public forums, little information had been shared by the school board about the superintendent search process or the candidates.

This story will be updated.

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