Board Of Education Appoints Monique Felder As Interim Superintendent

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — The Montgomery County Board of Education appointed Monique Felder as the county school system’s interim superintendent on Tuesday after last week’s departure of Superintendent Monifa McKnight.

Felder previously served as superintendent of Orange County Public Schools in North Carolina, chief academic officer for Metro Nashville Public Schools and executive director for Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland.

The Board of Education said it is aware of a prior investigation into the financial disclosure reporting of an honorarium received by Felder from an educational consulting company in 2019. The board said it has reviewed the findings and “is confident that the findings were unsubstantiated as the report concluded.”

“Dr. Felder has a long and successful career in public education, and is already familiar with MCPS,” Karla Silvestre, president of the Montgomery County Board of Education, said in a statement Tuesday. “We are confident that her background in district leadership, instruction and administration makes her the right person to carry us through this transition and begin the work to rebuild trust among staff and the community, while we identify the next permanent superintendent.”

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Felder started her career with MCPS, serving as a classroom teacher, assistant principal and principal. A native of New York, Felder holds a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from Virginia Tech.

Most recently, Felder has been coaching and mentoring principals and assistant principals in New Jersey and working with superintendents in North Carolina on identifying and implementing innovative programs.

After weeks of tension and public debate about her job performance, the Board of Education said last Friday it had reached an agreement with McKnight for her step down as superintendent.

Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson said the council respects the board and McKnight's "mutual agreement to separate."

On Thursday, the Montgomery County Council will hold a joint audit and education and culture oversight committee meeting to discuss a Montgomery County’s Office of the Inspector General report issued last month that found several deficiencies in the way Montgomery County Public Schools deals with employee complaints.

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