By Adam Pagnucco.
Part One described how I reached out to my source network to get their grades on MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s first year. Part Two featured remarks from sources who gave Taylor a C+ or below. Part Three had comments from sources who gave Taylor an A- or better. Today we will hear from sources who gave him grades of B+, B or B-.
All comments begin with a grade. All remarks were provided confidentially. Let’s go!
Grade: B+. I would have given him an A because he has been more transparent and a much better communicator than our recent MCPS leadership. However, he also proposed a massive budget which is defensible in some ways (funding for kids with special needs), but he did not really tackle the huge and I think bloated MCPS executive leadership which needs streamlining. It would save money but more importantly put more leadership and decision-making down at the school level.
Grade: B. From the perspective of the MCPS “family” I suppose he should get an A, because he galvanized support from the unions, the parents, and the Board, and got the Council to agree to nearly all his budget request. But I downgrade him to a B because in the medium and long run it’s not sustainable.
Grade: B+. Strong start, no glaring scandals or malfeasance. Did not make any “rookie mistakes.” He steadied the ship and made noticeable improvements. Feel that he is not leading as much as he is still learning – a smart strategy politically. Maybe in year two, we will see more of a fingerprint of his own leadership style and his more of his positive energy emanating from middle management within the system. Hoping that Dr. Taylor’s second year is as good as his first.
Grade: B+. Having grown up in MoCo and graduating from MCPS, he is familiar with the county and the school system. His experience nearby gave him invaluable experience within earshot of here. He came with a great deal of experience, a fresh perspective, insight into the needs of our 14th largest educational system in the country, and most importantly a vision that hopefully will jumpstart our system. He dove in headfirst into the job and the community and he has worked tirelessly at his desk and just as hard getting to know people of Montgomery County. Most importantly, he listens and is candid in his conversations across the county.
Many issues face MCPS in months and years ahead but his refreshening energy and candor to me bode well for MCPS, the students and teachers, and the taxpayers of MoCo.
Grade: B+. Solid B+. I would give him an A, but his budget request was not realistic. He has an open door policy. He is everywhere. He’s down to earth. People like him.
Grade: B+. Thomas Taylor has earned a B+. However, since it is MCPS, we will round that up to an A. His accomplishments have been
a) reuniting The Family
b) increasing transparency and collaboration
c) reorganization of central office
d) playing a supporting role in getting an almost fully funded budget
e) funny videos
He gets an A through grade inflation, but he didn’t earn it because:
1. Special education is still a mess
2. School climate in a lot of buildings still needs serious improvement.
3. Physical infrastructure, including HVAC, is a looming time bomb.
4. The dad jokes don’t always land.
Editor’s note: There is no grade inflation at Montgomery Perspective so we are counting this as a B+!
Grade: B+. As the parent of two kids, one middle school and one elementary, I don’t have anything to complain about. So far, the year has gone well and there have been no dramatic emergencies brought on by incompetence or corruption. We will be affected by the boundary study, and there is a possibility our high school might change, but we will survive. It’s a part of life and a sign that the system is growing, which overall is a positive thing.
Grade: B. I give him a solid B. He has brought much needed stability and calm but also has been less of an independent thinker than I expected.
Grade: B+. He’s saying a lot of the right things, but MCPS has a serious credibility problem that will not be fixed with talk alone. It did not start with the Beidelman scandal – the roots of the problem go back several years. The quality of the schools in Montgomery County has been sliding for a long time, especially outside the W clusters and a few selective magnets. MCPS has shown no willingness to acknowledge its weaknesses and does not seem to have any ideas other than asking for more money. I appreciate the fact that TT acknowledges the bloat in central office staff, but his first budget fails to confront the issue of ever-expanding administrator head count, which doesn’t inspire confidence that he is prepared to make hard choices. I would like to see some evidence that he has a plan to get the system back to the point where parents who expect their kids to go directly from high school to a four-year college can have confidence that any school in the county will prepare them to succeed without remediation. Is that too much to ask?
Grade: B+. Taylor is well underway cleaning house at central office. He is building collaborative relationships with administrators, teachers, and staff, along with their unions. He accepts both blame and responsibility for MCPS’s flaws, even if they were before his time. It’s an admirable leadership quality. Like the coach of a great team, his players seem to want to play hard for him.
Grade: B. Superintendent Taylor has approached this first year with curiosity about the MCPS community and schools. I think this was important for two reasons – he learned more about the current state of the system and it helped to build trust with various groups of stakeholders. There continue to be many issues that need to be addressed but his communication style, and that of this communication team, appear to encourage problem solving rather than blaming. His business management style seems effective in budget negotiations. The boundary studies and subsequent decision making will be an impactful test of leadership.
Grade: B. He is squeaky clean, meets with many groups who don’t like his policies and seems like a regular, if not possibly a little goofy, guy which in itself is disarming. And perhaps best of all, he is crony-free. He uses social media well and I think he has done a lot to resurrect the reputation of the management of MCPS. I don’t know how many of those $200 K plus middle managers he retains… less would be more so not sure he should not do a reorg at some point soon. Especially when he is asking more and more from the taxpayers. He did inherit a mess and the sprawling nature of the system will take more than one year to get under control. So he gets a break there as far as I am concerned. The real proof will be the test scores which again he needs time to influence post pandemic.
Grade: B. I gave Dr. Taylor a B overall, but as on any report card, this is made up of several types of work. His strongest performance has been in building relationships with associations, parent groups, and elected officials. This was most aptly demonstrated in getting an enormous budget increase.
Where he has struggled:
- Addressing the toxic culture of central office. His reorganization has taken a long time and too many familiar names are still in positions of power.
- Boundary changes and program study. These seem to be moving forward without rhyme or reason – those two projects could influence the direction the system takes for the next few decades and he seems surprisingly hands-off about both projects.
- Safety and security. The movement on that seems glacial.
He is a good communicator and he seems sincere in his commitment to the system, but he was hired to be a change agent and the pace of change is slower than I had hoped. That said, he had a new board, the system was recovering from a scandal, and big changes take time. So I give him a solid B.
Grade: B+. A solid B+, an old-school B+. He has built good rapport with stakeholders. Council staffers say the communication is much improved. Parent advocates feel that they have someone who is interested in schools and this school system. He was a strong advocate for the school budget. Policy direction around grading, school safety, and cell phones is all moving in the right direction. Now, the question is how he’ll leverage the resources from this year’s budget and the momentum he has to more generally get MCPS to where people expect it to be in the post-pandemic environment.
Grade: B. MCPS badly needed a fresh start, and Taylor provided it. He is engaging, communicates well, and has reassembled the united Weast coalition that had gone by the boards by securing a massive budget increase that gives everyone most of what they want. That model will not be easily replicable going forward. The real test will come when he starts making needed decisions for MCPS that don’t make everyone happy.
Grade: B. Early on he faced the political firestorm of the departure of Dr. McKnight well, and subsequently acknowledged the troubled system he inherited in a smart way. It is never easy to come in and clean up after chaos and scandal. He did a great job rebuilding from day one. For that he gets an “A.” After he got his footing, I think he did an impressive job selling the county on a “broccoli” budget which may have contained some very fancy broccoli with a requested increase that amounts to more than most county departments’ budgets. The issue is that the needs of the school system seem to be measured by an “if everything is not perfect at schools we have to put all the money in” mentality, and for the rest of MoCo government that would mean increasing every department by equal if not greater increases. Especially in HHS, Transportation, and Public Safety Budgets. For this I give him a “C.” Good for schools but maybe not fair to critical needs that also touch the same families in need as those in the school system. Taylor was wise to work with Council President Stewart on the MCPS budget. It helped move the ball in the moment, and was a smart compromise. For this I would give a B. Needs Improvement: Cut back on central staff, consider fiscal responsibilities and don’t just think more money is the answer. Not grading those, but he has some hard work ahead that will not be solved by viral videos (although fun) or marketing (broccoli).
Grade: B+ on everything except budget. B- on budget.
Pros: Emotionally intelligent, understands the big picture, conveys that he understands systemic problems and is working on them, won key influencers over quickly, is rebuilding trust. Love the videos.
Cons: I understand why he brought forward a ridiculously overblown budget, because it pleased the people he answers to, but it’s fiscally irresponsible at a time when state and county taxes will soon increase, countless federal workers are out of work, and it’s unclear if we’re headed toward a recession.
Grade: B. The new superintendent deserves credit for bringing a much-needed cultural shift to the district. There’s no question that his presence has been a marked improvement in many ways, and his leadership has contributed to a more positive tone overall.
However, there are still some concerns that can’t be overlooked — Union partners have shared concerns about how the reorg was out of process causing unnecessary anxiety amongst employees.
He has claimed special education will be a focus and made promises in the budget for all these positions, but in talking with principals they have not seen the increases.
Grade: B-. Dr. Taylor’s first year as superintendent earns a B minus. A steady start with signs of potential, but with clear areas needing progress. He has been visible and engaged, taken steps to streamline central office operations, and prioritized funding for special education. These are encouraging moves that suggest a reset in priorities.
However, while the tone has shifted, the public is still waiting for more, especially when it comes to academic outcomes, school safety, equity, and overall student experience. Families are ready to see tangible, measurable improvements on a consistent basis. Year two and next steps will really matter.
Grade: B+. I like what I’ve seen of Superintendent Taylor and I suggest giving him a B+. I’m impressed with his commitment to openness and listening at public meetings, which promotes the restoration of the public’s trust in MCPS. His philosophy of preserving what works really well, and looking for opportunities to get better is a “continuous improvement” mindset. I think it was quite brilliant to take on the idea of “Academic Program Analysis”, while working on the boundaries for the 3 new high schools (which already “disrupts” much of the countywide boundaries map). It’s an opportune time to look at Regions in order to provide “suites” of programs that will tend to equalize opportunities for all — various career opportunities, Tech, Environment, Business, Engineering, IT, Health, AP, Dual Enrollment in Montgomery College, Fine Arts… If we’re going to seriously disrupt the map in order to accommodate new high schools, this is also an opportunity to “shuffle” and realign pockets of specialized curriculum so that many more students can benefit from NEW opportunities!
Grade: B-. Overall grade for Dr. Taylor in year 1 is a B-. Dr. Taylor held community engagement conversations to understand what’s working well and what needs to be improved, he worked closely with the Board, the employee unions & MCPS funding partners at the County Council. The baseline is now established and so year 2 will be important to make measurable improvements in three key areas: school safety, fiscal prudence, & student proficiency in math and literacy outcomes, particularly for Special Education, Black students, FARMS & EMLs.
With an unprecedented FY2026 Operating Budget of $3.65B, Dr. Taylor needs to improve transparency, governance, oversight, accountability, accessibility of data and return on investment. Rebuilding trust with staff, parents, students and the community can only occur if these things are accomplished in year 2.
Grade: B+. I haven’t worked with any other MCPS superintendent, so my comparison point is from when I was a student myself under Dr. Jerry Weast. That’s the style of leadership I was used to. But working with Dr. Taylor has felt more collaborative. He listens more than he speaks, which is crucial given the challenges he inherited.
I also think he’s done well in addressing some of the recent issues MCPS has faced as an institution. Even if everything isn’t fully fixed yet, he’s taken clear steps to start moving things in the right direction.
Plus, a lot of times, I have to be the one reaching out to other county leaders. He was one of the few who went out of his way to meet with me before I asked to meet with him. That may not seem like much to most, but I really appreciated him and his staff taking the time to do that.
Next: I’ll summarize Taylor’s grades and throw in my opinion too. (You know I can’t resist!)