The head of the Montgomery County public school system has named an acting superintendent after going on leave for a medical condition last week for which she was hospitalized.
In a email to school staff sent on Oct. 20, Monifa McKnight said she had been “dealing with a medical condition that required hospitalization. I am home now, getting better every day, and looking forward to getting back to the office.”
The email, provided to WTOP, was first reported by MoCo360.
McKnight told staff members that Chief Operating Officer Brian Hull will be serving as acting superintendent while she is on leave. He has been working at Montgomery County schools for a little over a year after working in Minneapolis Public Schools for a short time and in public school administrative roles in Tennessee for over eight years, according to LinkedIn.
It’s unclear how long McKnight will remain on leave.
The short-term appointment comes amid a larger shift in personnel, after McKnight announced that the district’s deputy superintendent position and office would be led by new staff as part of a response to the Jackson Lewis investigation into how a principal was promoted while facing harassment and bullying allegations.
McKnight said in the email that she is also introducing new training plans and guidance for investigating anonymous complaints in response to how former principal Joel Beidleman was promoted in June despite numerous complaints made about his alleged conduct.
Hull has been leading the school district amid many security concerns this past week, as high schools have reacted to repeated bomb threats made by a 12-year-old and a student at Walter Johnson High School was arrested Monday for bringing a gun to school.
WTOP’s Scott Gelman contributed to this report.
