The Montgomery Chamber of Commerce on Thursday criticized some members of the Montgomery Public Schools Board of Education for their role in the resignation last week of system Superintendent Melvin Brown after two years with the system.
The chamber said Brown has led “critical transformation efforts” in the system but his resignation was “driven by the actions of four elected members” of the board.
According to a press release from the chamber, it issued a resolution Thursday.
“We urge the four members of the Montgomery County Board of Education, who acted to accept Dr. Brown’s resignation last week, to reassess the serious setbacks their actions will inflict upon Montgomery Public School students and the ability of the district to retain or recruit future leadership,” the resolution says. “There is no evidence that the four members of the Board of Education responsible for this crisis of leadership have a plan, nor have they demonstrated they are open to collaboration with other community leaders to find a way forward.”
The chamber did not name the four members of the board.
The Montgomery Advertiser previously reported that board members Pamela Cloud, Lesa Keith, Pamela Portis and Arica Watkins-Smith voted to accept Brown’s resignation. Claudia Mitchell and Cassandra Brown voted to reject it.
Chamber officials and others emphasized Thursday the essential role of education in the region’s economic development, workforce readiness, military mission, health care and overall quality of life.
“At the very heart of our region is a school system that serves some 26,000 students. It is a system that is the cornerstone of our regional workforce and is currently in a state of crisis,” said commerce leader Caryl Hughes.
She also said the chamber is committed to stable leadership in the school system.
“We are going to be fully engaged to ensure Montgomery — the state capital — doesn’t lose momentum,” Hughes said. “Our focus remains on working with all partners to secure the best path forward.”
State Superintendent Eric Mackey also spoke at the chamber press conference, praising Brown’s work as the system came out of a state intervention.
He also cautioned the board, saying Brown’s decision to resign “sends the message to potential candidates out there that Montgomery’s one of those places, as it used to be and was for about 20 years, a place where after 18 to 24 months the board’s going to get tired of you and you’re going to have to sell your house and you’re going to have to move on.”