New MCPS Superintendent Announced: Dr. Thomas W. Taylor

June 17, 2024

On Friday, MCPS communicated that the Board of Education would be having a press conference on Monday June 17 at 3pm to announce their new superintendent candidate.

We began hearing rumors about who the finalists were about a week ago and that a decision was imminent, and the latter ended up being true.

On Monday at the press conference it was announced that they have selected Dr. Thomas W. Taylor.

Dr. Taylor Current Job

Dr. Thomas W. Taylor is currently the superintendent of Stafford County Public Schools in Virginia. You can ready more about him here on their website or via the image below if that site becomes no longer accessible.

He has been in that position since 2021 when he was hired after the former superintendent retired.

Some highlights from his bio include that he has an M.B.A. (which could be instrumental in helping MCPS recover from its budget and financial issues) and was selected as the Region III superintendent of the year in 2016 and is on several different statewide initiatives and committees in Virginia. He was also selected as the Region III superintendent of the year in 2024 for his work in Stafford County Public schools.

Past Experience

One important thing to note that is that he appears to have no relations to MCPS in the past which should enable him to come in without biases and a fresh look.

Taylor is a “Washington, D.C. native and has served as a social studies teacher, coach, and leader in several Virginia school districts over the last 25+ years”

“Prior to his service in Stafford, Dr. Taylor was the Deputy Superintendent in Chesterfield County, the Region III Superintendent of the Year (2016) in Middlesex County, and UVA’s Alumni Outstanding Principal (2012) in Charlottesville City.”

Stafford County Public Schools is Smaller but Similar Demographical Situation

Although Stafford County Public Schools is significantly smaller (33 schools / 31,000 students / 4,300 employess) than MCPS (210+ schools / 160,000 students / 24,000 employees), the website says it is a “high-performing, majority-minority school district, where nearly half of the students participate in the federal free lunch program” which is similar to MCPS. Update: Adam Pagnucco just posted a closer examination of demographics and school/budget size on 6/18/2024.

Stafford County Public Schools also faced some budget issues this year.

Dr. Felder Not in Consideration

We reported a few weeks ago that sources indicated to us interim Superintendent Dr. Felder was not in consideration for the long term position around the same time that MCPS put out an email about the Superintendent search moving along.

More Information on Dr. Taylor

Dr. Taylor went viral earlier this year with this Eminem themed video about a snow day:

The only negative thing we have been able to find about Dr. Taylor is this petition with 5 signatures from an August 2022 employee teambuilding event that allegedly led to heat related illnesses of some attendees.

One thing mentioned in several of the articles about Dr. Taylor is issues with the school system being one of the most underfunded school systems which resulted in losing teachers to neighboring jurisdictions that pay more and that they hadn’t built a new school for growth since 2008. These shouldn’t be as much of an issue in MCPS, where he will face new and different challenges.

MCPS Leadership Needed This

If everything is as it appears and nothing bad comes up about Dr. Taylor, MCPS leadership seems like they may have found a solid new hire at a time they really needed it. And they found someone from outside the system without using the same search firm HYA that is much too friendly with MCPS insiders including having Henry Johnson in their leadership while he is simultaneously working for MCPS (now as acting Chief of Staff). HYA is the same group that selected Dr. McKnight and assisted with superintendent searches for MCPS in 1999, 2011 and 2015.

After the Beidleman investigation (and everything leading up to it), Dr. McKnight leaving for a large settlement, Dr. Felder being selected as the interim Superintendent with some baggage and questions about the selection process, and everything going on with next year’s operating budget, they really needed a solid selection without any baggage and at first glance this selection appears to meet that criteria, plus he is an outsider with an MBA which should be useful in getting MCPS finances examined with a fresh eye.

Getting an outsider without friends in MCPS to influence who is able and willing to clean up shop including those involved in the Beidleman promotion (and cover up) as well as other issues is paramount.

The primary concern seems to be that his experience is with significantly smaller school districts and that will be his challenge to overcome.

More Information Post Announcment

We’ll post about all of the other media sources and official sources releases regarding the Dr. Thomas Taylor below along with some reactions from key figures.

To start with, The Washington Post article (gifted) reporting included confirmation of MCPS Chief Operating Officer Brian Hull leaving the school system over the weekend. We had heard rumblings of this as early as Friday but now it is confirmed.

Moco360 coverage included information about his early life where he was an MCPS student that graduated from B-CC High School in 1996.

The MoCo Show gets a tip of the hat for keying us into that incredible video above.

Reactions to Announcement

Former MCPS Superintendent Josh Star is impressed with the hire stating “Taylor is an outstanding choice” on X/Twitter:

Statement from County Executive Marc Elrich on X/Twitter:

Here is the BOE announcement on X/Twitter:

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