The Pitch: Felder worked at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools with acting superintendent Hull between 2016 and 2019, when Hull was serving as the Director of Resource Strategy at MNPS

Dr. Monique Felder appointed MCPS Interim Superintendent

...But MCPS tapping an outsider has caused many to question the process and the timing of the hiring. It appears that MCPS did not contact a search firm for the interim superintendent position, meaning that Felder may have been the only candidate in the running. Typical standard practice for hiring a superintendent involves a national search using a search firm, although an outsider being tapped as interim superintendent is unprecedented. Board President Karla Silvestre stated that the Board “considered a number of people to serve,” during a press conference Tuesday.

Others have voiced concerns that Felder’s hiring could have been the subject of cronyism or other “friend of a friend” type connections within MCPS. Felder did not directly ever work for, under or with McKnight.

However, Felder worked at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools with acting superintendent Hull between 2016 and 2019, when Hull was serving as the Director of Resource Strategy at MNPS, although the two were not in the same department.

The timing of MCPS’ announcement also raises questions. Given the four-day window between resignation and appointment and rumors of Felder’s appointment spreading as early as Friday, it is almost certain that the Board started considering Felder before McKnight resigned. How long the Board considered or discussed Felder before McKnight’s resignation is not known. Normally, the process for finding, properly vetting and approving a superintendent can take several months.

“We have known about [Felder] and communicated with her over the last few weeks,” Silvestre said. When pressed for a precise date for when contacting Felder, Silvestre claimed the Board did not remember an exact date...

https://www.wjpitch.com/top-stories/2024/02/06/mcps-appoints-interim-superintendent/