Former Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Monifa McKnight will receive a total of $1.3 million under a separation agreement between herself and the Montgomery County Board of Education, according to documents received Friday by MoCo360.
The agreement, which MoCo360 received from the school district after filing a Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) request, outlines the conditions reached between the two parties when McKnight resigned in February.
In addition to receiving the payment, which also includes legal fees and deferred compensation, McKnight agreed not to sue the school board, to a mutual non-disparagement agreement and secured permission for her son to continue attending county public schools, according to the agreement.
Neither McKnight nor her lawyer responded to calls requesting comment late Friday.
In an email statement about the agreement, school board President Karla Silvestre said:
“The Montgomery County Board of Education is committed to the well-being and success of all students and staff. All decisions the Board makes are made in the best interest of our students and our school system. As stewards of education, we are committed to ensuring that the core purpose of teaching and learning, and ultimately student success, remains central to everything we do. It is imperative that anything that distracts from high quality teaching and learning is minimized.”
The statement noted that the school board has recently launched a national search for the next superintendent and are asking the community to participate “identifying the leadership characteristics essential in our next leader.”
“We are actively planning for the future to ensure that our schools continue to thrive and meet the needs of our diverse community,” the statement said.
McKnight resigned Feb. 2 in a “mutually agreed separation” with the school board following scrutiny over the school system’s handling of the sexual harassment allegations against former principal Joel Beidleman. In the aftermath of the scandal, first reported by The Washington Post in August, McKnight was tasked by the Board of Education with developing an action plan to address the failures of the district and attempt to rebuild the trust of the public.
Prior to her resignation, McKnight announced Jan. 22 that the Board of Education asked her to resign but that she was planning to fight for her employment and had hired a lawyer. The school board would not comment on the matter at the time, citing personnel privacy concerns.
McKnight, who was appointed in 2022 to a four-year term, and earned $342,400 in 2023, according to documents a separate MPIA reuqest filed by MoCo360.
According to the agreement, the payment to McKnight represents a combination of agreed-upon wages, attorney fees and deferred compensation and retirement annuities.
Here is the payment breakdown:
- $1,183,250 in agreed-upon wages. The payment will be made in two equal lump sum payments with the final payment on or before Jan. 31, 2025;
- $30,000 in attorney fees;
- $20,225 in deferred compensation;
- $18,525 from a tax-sheltered annual annuity plan; and
- $48,000 paid to McKnight’s annual annuity account.
After McKnight stepped down, the school board appointed a former MCPS administrator, Monique Felder, to serve as interim superintendent. Felder was most recently a superintendent of a small North Carolina school district.
Prior to her appointment, MCPS hired McKnight as deputy superintendent in May 2019. When the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools in March 2020, she helped lead MCPS’ efforts to transition to virtual learning and later the reopening of schools in 2021.
Before her appointment in 2022, McKnight was named the interim superintendent in 2021 after Jack Smith’s retirement.