The Baltimore City school board on Tuesday night elected new board leadership after the sudden departure of its chair and vice chair this week.

Robert Salley, who has a background in teaching and education policy, was elected chair with the support of seven members. Three board members abstained. Salley was appointed to the board in 2022.

Ashiah Parker, a Sandtown resident who is executive director of the No Boundaries Coalition, an advocacy organization that attempts to address longstanding racial and economic barriers in West Baltimore neighborhoods, was elected vice chair.

The votes came after Chair Ronald McFadden and Vice Chair Shantell Roberts resigned in the past 24 hours in letters to Mayor Brandon Scott. The mayor will have to appoint two new members to the board.

The unusual departures midway through the school year came after a push for more power by members of the board who believed McFadden and Roberts had left them in the dark about negotiations with CEO Sonja Santelises over a new contract.

McFadden had the support of the majority of the board until the mayor appointed three new members in July. The mayor has generally been supportive of Santelises, the longest-serving superintendent in decades.

Last month, with the three new members voting in favor, the board extended Santelises’ contract for another year, until June 30, 2026.

McFadden and Roberts voted against the action, nor did they stand when the rest of the those in the room jumped to their feet and cheered the CEO.

McFadden and Roberts have not responded to requests for comment. Board members have not commented on what transpired behind closed doors in the runup to the departures. The board met for an hour in executive session Tuesday evening before opening the meeting to the public and voting on the new leaders with virtually no comment.

In an interview following the board meeting, Salley and Parker said they were pleased to take on their new roles.

Parker said that both she and Salley asked to be considered for the leadership positions during the board meeting Tuesday night. “Commissioner Salley is the most senior on the board. He has the expertise. He has the organizational history and he wanted to be considered in a time of transition,” Parker said.

She said she believed she could support Salley and hoped to be a bridge builder on the board.

Salley said the board will be “hyper-focused” on communicating with the city school families and community. “We are very excited for this opportunity,” Salley said.

Santelises declined to comment.

“We would like to thank our leadership for their service and commitment to city schools,” Salley said, reading from a statement at the virtual meeting. “Our board remains focused on carrying out and enhancing our governance responsibilities in service of our students.” He said the board was committed to a transparent search for the next CEO of the school system, an issue that unions and members of the public had been concerned about.

Salley and Parker will lead the board through the end of the school year.

While board members never had contentious exchanges in public sessions, the previous board chair and vice chair’s animosity towards Santelises was evident.

School boards in the Baltimore region have generally kept disputes over superintendent contracts out of the public view, often holding votes in private on a superintendent before coming out in open session and voting unanimously to back the majority’s pick for superintendent.

But in Baltimore, that dissension broke into the open when Roberts first voted in June against a one-year contract extension for Santelises and then left the meeting before it ended. McFadden and Roberts were among three board members to vote against adding another year to the contract extension in October.

Most school boards elect leaders annually, but the city’s board gives its leadership two years. So McFadden and Roberts would have continued to lead the board through June 2025.

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.