Montgomery County Public Schools Acting Chief of Staff Michael Durso has left his post after a short-lived tenure and following the resignation of Superintendent Monifa McKnight, according to MCPS.
Durso left the job Feb. 7, five days after McKnight departed, MCPS spokesperson Chris Cram confirmed Tuesday. McKnight’s resignation came in the aftermath of an explosive scandal that revealed MCPS’ mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations against former Farquhar Middle School principal Joel Beidleman.
In January, the Board of Education allegedly asked McKnight to step down. Initially, she stood up to the ouster and vowed to protect her reputation but ultimately reached a mutual agreement with the school to step down on Feb. 2.
The next week on Feb. 6, the school board appointed interim Superintendent Monique Felder to lead MCPS as it searched for a permanent superintendent.
Durso’s contract began on Jan. 16 and his last day was Feb. 7, according to Cram.
According to MCPS, the chief of staff aids the superintendent of schools, represents the superintendent’s perspective and serves as a liaison between the Office of the Superintendent, the Board and other internal and external stakeholders. In addition, the post oversees the departments of shared accountability, partnerships, and communications.
Henry R. Johnson Jr., who has a long career in education and leadership positions at MCPS, was tapped to fill the vacancy created by Durso’s departure, according to Cram. Johnson was the principal of Northwood High School in Silver Spring from July 2003 until January 2013 and the MCPS chief of staff from 2016 to 2020 under former Superintendent Jack Smith, who left MCPS in 2021.
Prior to his principalship at Northwood, Johnson served as a principal for Stafford County and Fairfax County public schools in Virginia, according to his LinkedIn profile. After leaving Northwood, he served as the assistant state superintendent and interim deputy state superintendent for the Maryland State Department of Education.
Johnson works as an adjunct professor at Trinity Washington University and is an associate at Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, an education consulting firm that helps schools recruit executive and leadership roles. Johnson did not immediately respond to MoCo360’s request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Durso noted Tuesday that he had taken the job at McKnight’s request.
“After her resignation, with things falling into place in a different direction for the system—and I was temporary part-time to begin with—it just seemed to me to be realistic to finish up and make way for the current chief of staff,” Durso said.
Durso was hired as acting chief of staff after the former chief of staff Brian Stockton left MCPS in January. According to Cram, Stockton was recently married, living in a long-distance relationship with his wife and ultimately decided to join her in a new city. Since leaving the district, Stockton has become the chief of staff of Arlington Public Schools.
Durso’s exit from MCPS comes on the heels of the departure from MCPS of former Montgomery County Councilmember and school board member Nancy Navarro. McKnight hired Navarro as senior adviser of external affairs in November in the wake of the Beidleman scandal.
Durso told MoCo360 that he hopes things “can fall into place” during this period of transition at MCPS. For now, he is returning to retirement and focusing on smaller projects with MCPS, such as working with students with attendance issues. He said that he will stay involved with the district “on an as-needed basis.”
Durso served on the school board from 2009 to 2018 and was first appointed to the role to fill a vacancy on the school board. In 2010 he was elected to his first four-year term and then in 2014 was reelected. In 2015, Durso was selected as the president of the school board where he served until 2018.
Before serving on the board, Durso had a 44-year career in education with 13 years as the principal of Springbrook High School in Silver Spring. He began his career as a social studies teacher and was also the principal at schools in Virginia and Washington, D.C.