Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks has asked Juanita Miller, chair of the county school board, to resign, according to a letter obtained by The Washington Post.

       The letter from Alsobrooks (D), dated Wednesday, asked for Miller’s resignation “effective immediately.” The request follows a notice of charges issued to Miller this week from the Maryland State Board of Education that could lead to Miller’s removal from the county board. Those charges included misconduct in office, willful neglect of duty and incompetence.

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       Alsobrooks’s letter to Miller does not mention the state board’s notice of charges.

       Rather, the county executive cited legislation that would alter the board’s makeup from a hybrid board of appointed and elected members to a fully elected board by 2024. That same legislation allows school board members to pick the chair and vice chair, unlike now, when both positions are appointed by the county executive.

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       “As we begin moving forward on a new path with our Board and its leadership, I believe that now is the time to start fresh with a clean slate and in order to help that process, and in light of what we discussed in recent days, I believe it is best for you to resign from the Board at this time,” Alsobrooks wrote.

       Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was unclear Thursday evening whether she would step down.

       Miller, a former state delegate and water utility commissioner, has led the board of the state’s second-largest school system since January 2021 after Alsobrooks appointed her to the position. She has been at the center of several conflicts with board members, leading to polarization of appointed and elected members, canceled meetings, and residents pushing for state intervention. Some current and former members have long called for her resignation.

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       Edward Burroughs III, a former school board member who was often at odds with Miller, said that Miller had “a pattern of fueling dysfunction.”

       “It’s so important the school system is able to move forward [from] under this cloud of acrimony and dysfunction,” said Burroughs, who now serves on the county council. “Our students deserve better than this.”

       Sonya Williams, an elected member appointed as vice chair of the board by Alsobrooks, did not respond to a request for comment.

       The state board formally wrote Miller to issue a notice of charges Tuesday. The letter, signed by President Clarence C. Crawford, pointed to two allegations against Miller. It first referenced Miller’s failure to sign a contract with the board-approved law firm even though the board took that action at an April 2021 meeting. Crawford then wrote that Miller proceeded to engage the legal services of different firms without board approval. People from those unapproved law firms attended closed sessions of the board in February and June 2021.

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       The charges also pointed to Miller allegedly withholding seven ethics complaints from the local school board. Board policy requires all ethics complaints and recommendations by ethics panelists to be presented to the board.

       Miller has 10 business days from the date of the state board letter to request an evidentiary hearing.

       School board member David Murray (District 1) was not aware of the county executive’s resignation request for Miller until he saw media reports Thursday. “It’s about time, for one, but the county executive created this problem,” Murray said, noting that Miller is an Alsobrooks appointee. “Even for her calling to resign doesn’t get [Miller] off the board.”

       Murray said Alsobrooks hadn’t indicated to board members as of Thursday whether they would be able to vote for their next chair if Miller steps down.