In a rare move, Baltimore County’s school board has censured one of its members for “rude and disrespectful conduct toward the Superintendent.”

A resolution passed at Tuesday night’s school board meeting alleged that Maggie Domanowski used a “tone and manner that was perceived as uncivil and aggressive” during a Jan. 28 school board meeting. Domanowski said at the meeting she’d be filing an appeal.

The public reprimand, passed in a 7-4 vote, sets a precedent for how board members should conduct themselves, board member Tiara Booker-Dwyer said. But others questioned why it was necessary. A former teachers union head said Domanowski was asking legitimate questions about the budget, and a former board member suggested the censure was an attempt to intimidate her.

The “disrespectful conduct” in the censure resolution refers to a series of questions Domanowski posed to Superintendent Myriam Rogers.

In the exchange, captured on video of the January board meeting, Domanowski objects to being interrupted by Vice Chair Robin Harvey, noting that she gets three minutes to ask questions.

When she’s allowed to proceed, Domanowski asks Rogers how a 50% cut to a budget line item called College and Career Readiness would affect multiple academic programs. Rogers asked what page she was referring to while flipping through her budget book.

“It’s in your budget,” Domanowski replied. “You cut it by 50% this year.”

As the superintendent and her staff pause to fumble through documents, Domanowski continues to ask about line items that appear to show drastic cuts or increases. Rogers and her team offer a series of explanations until Domanowski’s time runs out.

The censure resolution stated that Domanowski’s actions did not align with the board’s standards and expectations. Not addressing it could “undermine the integrity and credibility” of the board, the board’s relationship with Rogers and Rogers’ effectiveness, the resolution stated. Other than the interruption and the tone used, there were no other examples of the alleged disrespect in the resolution.

Domanowski said at the meeting that others’ perception of her is subjective. The board member said she saw only two emails from people voicing disapproval. She also said she’d apologized to Rogers for “making her feel uncomfortable” and that her line of questioning wasn’t meant to be aggressive.

“While my tone or demeanor may have been perceived by some as rude, lacking decorum or inappropriate, at no time did I use foul or even inappropriate language,” she said.

Domanowski did not respond to an interview request. Through a spokesperson, Rogers also declined an interview request.

Booker-Dwyer, who voted for the censure, said in an interview that she values the opinions of all board members, but they have to model the behavior they want to see in schools. Students were in the audience at the Jan. 28 meeting, she said, and there was more than one student who expressed concern to board members.

“When students are speaking out about a board member’s behavior, the board has to respond,” she said.

Not all board members agreed.

“As a 71-year-old human being, I have a difficult time, at this state of my life, judging and disciplining a peer,” board member Rod McMillion said.

Fellow member Christina Pumphrey agreed there was a disrespectful tone but said she’d rather give grace. She and board member Felicia Stolusky said they didn’t want this to happen publicly.

The three of them, as well as Domanowski, voted against the censure.

The student member, Ugonma Chike-Kalu, said that since the incident happened in public then so should the resolution.

“I think we’re setting a harmful precedent if we say that simply because someone is a colleague or peer that they are above or they are exempt from any sort of accountability,” she said.

Harvey told her colleagues that the censure is not discipline but an expression of disapproval.

Jane Lichter, chair of the board, and Harvey did not respond to interview requests.

Lisa Mack said this kind of thing was handled in a private meeting when she was on the board from 2018 to 2022, when board discussions were often heated and combative.

“There was no real purpose to do that in [an] open [meeting] other than to intimidate … and make an example of a board member who won’t fall in line with the status quo,” she said.

Mack said there are too many on the current board who align themselves with the superintendent, don’t ask questions and regularly “vote in the way the superintendent wants them to go. That’s not always in the best interest of children.”

“The bottom line is there was absolutely no purpose in doing that in public other than to intimidate and bully,” she said.

Abby Beytin, former head of the county’s teachers union, said when she watched the Jan. 28 meeting, she only saw Domanowski asking legitimate questions. The questions and responses are helpful to the public, she said.

Beytin, now retired, said this is the first time she’s seen a board censure a member, and that’s after she spent eight years as the president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County on top of all the years she’s been involved in the union in other capacities.

“There were times I felt differently about how people were talking to each other, but I’m not sure I would’ve agreed to a censure,” she said.

It feels wrong to her, she added, and she called it a “slap in the face” to those who voted for Domanowski.

Some speech, like hate speech, should be dealt with, “but there was nothing that I heard and I listened to the entire time that would rise to that.”

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.