On Thursday, June 12, Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) Board of Education met in closed session to discuss the future of Superintendent Millard House II, a meeting precipitated by a vote of no confidence by the Prince George’s County Educators Association
(PGCEA) (see page 6 of the June 12 issue). That closed-door meeting resulted in House stepping down after only two years in the role. The next morning, on Friday, June 13, incoming County Executive Aisha Braveboy announced the appointment of Shawn Joseph as Interim Superintendent. Joseph was this district’s Deputy Superintendent for Teaching and Learning from 2014 to 2016, before he became the Director of Schools (superintendent) for Metro Nashville Public Schools, a position from which he himself was ousted.
House’s Departure
Following the closed meeting, PGCPS announced what it called a mutual agreement for House to leave effective June 18, 2025. House’s contract was supposed to run through June 30, 2027. His severance package has so far not been disclosed. The News Review requested information about the severance from PGCPS’s office for media inquiries, the office of the Board of Education, Chair of the Board of Education Brandon Jackson and Greenbelt School Board Representative Jonathan Briggs. Briggs was the only person to respond to our enquiries, saying that he was not free to talk about the agreement right now. On Monday, June 16, the News Review filed a Public Information Act request for that information.
House’s Tenure
House’s brief tenure with PGCPS most notably saw an overhaul in transportation, including changes to school bell times and bussing, in an attempt to address chronic problems with buses and a driver shortage. He also led school safety measures such as clear backpacks and weapon detectors at high schools. On June 13, in the email announcing his departure, PGCPS also praised the board and House for “collaboratively” improving the school system, including increasing graduation rates to over 80 percent. That graduation rate improvement followed a grading policy reform that allows greater flexibility and opportunities for reassessment.
Under House, problems with communication and transparency continued, including, for example, a botched announcement of school bell changes and, locally, failure to inform the Dora Kennedy French Immersion school community of plans to move the school. The plans were announced by the News Review (see the February 1, 2024, issue). Also a subsequent hot mic comment that captured candid thoughts was at odds with a public presentation (see the February 15, 2024, issue).
Joseph’s History
Newly appointed Interim Superintendent Shawn Joseph left his former position of director (equivalent to superintendent) of Metro Nashville Public Schools in 2019 when that board of education voted 5 to 3 to terminate his contract. The Tennessee State Board of Nashville also recommended suspending his teaching license following allegations he failed to report multiple serious misconduct cases, including sexual harassment complaints (as reported across numerous Tennessee news outlets). The recommended suspension was fought by Joseph and never finalized. On Monday, June 16, Joseph wrote to the PGCPS community as their new interim superintendent to address “the elephant in the room.” “The reasons for my mutually agreed upon separation in Nashville were complex,” he wrote. “Issues of class, race, expectations and change were all at play.” Joseph’s departure from that role came with a contract payout of $261,250, $10,000 to cover legal costs of defending his state teaching license and other benefits. He has since served as faculty in the School of Education at Howard University and has an education and equity consulting firm.
According to News5Channel Nashville and others, accusations against Joseph in Nashville included nepotism in hiring and pay, pay discrepancies and illegal or problematic contracts, including a no-bid contract with a company with whom he’d previously worked in Maryland, and a “piggy-backed” contract that violated procurement rules. A district audit found nine violations of procurement policies and board members said he had misled them, news outlets in Tennessee reported. In addition, he allegedly failed to report educator misconduct in multiple cases, several of which led to lawsuits, including a lawsuit for unlawful retaliation by a member of human resources who said they tried to report a sexual harassment case, according to local news. The State Board recommended suspension of his license due to failure to report at least 12 educator misconduct cases, including extreme violations involving students, according to multiple news outlets. A NewsChannel 5 Nashville report outlined, in detail, sexual harassment cases that were not reported, what they called “questionable contracts,” a teacher “morale crisis,” pay disparities, including for his “friends or friends of his top staff,” “misleading statements to school board,” a “discipline crisis,” “election meddling” and “lack of transparency.” While some board members called for an independent investigation, others cautioned against unfair treatment of Joseph. He was the first African American to hold the position of CEO of the Metro Nashville School District. He denied wrongdoing.
During his tenure in Nashville, Joseph was credited with focusing on issues of equity, including initiatives to close achievement gaps and encourage culturally responsive teaching, and he oversaw increases in teacher pay.
Prior to the director position in Nashville, Joseph was deputy superintendent for teaching and learning for PGCPS for two years and before that, superintendent for the Seaford School District in Delaware for two years, from which he resigned mid-term due to “personal family reasons.”
Asked about his thoughts on Joseph leaving both of his previous superintendent positions early, and past allegations of procurement violations and failure to report misconduct, District 2 School Board Representative Briggs said that though “past experience can provide some insight about what to expect … people do change, adapt and grow.” Though Joseph is serving only in an interim capacity during a national superintendent search, Briggs said, “I believe the opportunity we have allows us to try on for size a prospective superintendent candidate, while searching for others.” PGCPS Superintendent prior to House (then called CEO), Monica Goldson, began her appointment as an interim.
Briggs told the News Review that Joseph’s record in Nashville was “certainly concerning.” “Some of the most effective leaders in history are those who have failed miserably,” Briggs said, “therefore, I believe this provides an opportunity to understand better how Joseph will rise to the occasion and possibly meet this moment. I wouldn’t want to write him off because of his past, but I also agree that his past is an important factor for the board to gain more clarity about … [W]hat I think is most important is the lessons he’s learned from it and how that will shape his actions as an interim.”
Sharon Taylor, director of communications for the county executive-elect, who selected Joseph, told the News Review that Braveboy believes Joseph is the right person at the right time. She also assured us that Joseph had been fully vetted and Braveboy and County Council Chair Edward Burroughs, along with stakeholders, all stood together in the recent press conference with confidence in Joseph. Asked about the violations of procurement policies and failures to report educator misconduct, Taylor said she couldn’t comment on what happened in Nashville.
When Joseph left PGCPS for Nashville he was publicly praised by then-PGCPS School Board Member Edward Burroughs III. Burroughs was elected to Prince George’s County Council in 2022 and was elected chair in March.
