Montgomery County school leaders silent on sudden leave for Northwest High School principal
GERMANTOWN, Md. - Scott Smith, the principal of Northwest High School in Germantown, has been placed on administrative leave amid an internal investigation. Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) officials have declined to share details about his sudden absence.
Smith, who has led Northwest High since 2021, was placed on leave. On Wednesday, boxes were seen being taken out of the school building.
District leadership has offered little explanation to the school community and has described the situation strictly as a personnel matter.
READ MORE | Montgomery County high school principal placed on leave; reason unclear
At a Montgomery County School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor and board member Grace Rivera-Oven—whose district includes Northwest High—declined to be interviewed or address questions regarding the investigation and the lack of transparency.
FOX 5 attempted to reach Smith directly at his Frederick County home, but was unsuccessful as no one answered the door.
The only official notice came from a letter sent to the Northwest High community, in which an administrator wrote: "Mr. Scott Smith is currently on leave. We are committed to sharing more information regarding the length of Mr. Smith’s absence when available."
What they're saying:
The silence from school administrators has created uncertainty among families.
"It’s a little concerning. The verbiage didn’t really say much in the community letter they sent out," said parent Pedro Arguello.
Arguello added that students are wondering about the situation and feeling "a little frazzled," and noted he is taking a wait-and-see approach until the school system releases further details.
Other parents voiced frustration regarding school safety and communication.
"We send her here. She’s here for most of the day, so we’ve got to know that there’s a safe environment," said parent Gene Davis. "If there’s something going on, we need to know about this as parents, you know. So we’re more concerned about her and the safety of other students, and we just want to know what’s going on."
The leadership change follows a security incident at Northwest High last month involving a gun reported inside the building, which took school officials nearly 24 hours to inform parents was tied to an armed robbery in a boys’ bathroom. It's unclear whether Smith’s placement on leave is related to that event.
The Source: Information in this article is from Montgomery County Public School leaders and original FOX 5 reporting.