Prince George's School Board Chair Faces Removal Over Accusations Of Misconduct, Neglect

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A virtual hearing continued Tuesday whereby a Maryland judge will decide whether to remove Prince George's County board of education chair Juanita Miller from office.

Miller was appointed chair in January 2021 by County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who in May 2022 asked for Miller's resignation. Miller refused to resign, she said in a four-minute video posted to the school district's website.

She faces claims of misconduct in office, willful neglect of duty and incompetence. The allegations have been made by six former and current school board members, including Raaheela Ahmed, Edward Burroughs III, Kenneth Harris, David Murray, Shayla Adams-Stafford and Joshua Thomas.

Their complaints include the claim that between Feb. 24, 2021, and April 28, 2021, Miller didn’t sign a contract with a law firm after the board approved it. Miller also supposedly permitted two representatives from different law firms to attend confidential executive board sessions. The six former and current board members also say Miller withheld ethics reports from the board, Patch reported previously.

According to Maryland Matters, Miller’s attorney, Bruce Marcus, delivered an opening statement Monday that detailed a history of his client’s education and professional background.

“The accusations that have been made about Dr. Miller are obviously, entirely and totally inconsistent with over 50 years of varying public service … to the citizens not only of Maryland [but particularly] Prince George’s County,” he said. “There is some suggestion that it is skullduggery or other kinds of misconduct in this case that somehow or other that have been to bear by Dr. Miller, which are wholly inconsistent with a lifetime of varying public service.”

Fox 5 reported that the $32,000 in legal fees for Miller are being paid by the school system without any formal vote taking place, even though the board never approved the expense. Board members told Fox 5 that former board vice chair Sonya Williams signed off on the payments and sent them to the school district to be paid. She did not run for re-election.