School board member 'outraged' at Sharon Cox

School board Vice President Sharon Cox acted beyond her authority when she went to the County Council claiming to represent the entire Board of Education, says board member Nancy Navarro (pictured).

Cox issued a statement attacking the authority of the Inspector General and claiming that the school system was not accountable to Montgomery County.

"I feel really outraged such a statement would be released when the board never discussed it," Navarro tells the Washington Post.

Navarro and fellow board member Valerie Ervin, "both of whom joined the board in 2004, are questioning who gave Cox the authority to speak for the board. Ervin and Navarro said the full board never had a meeting to draft its response to [IG Thomas] Dagley," according to the Post.

"To me it raises a red flag, which underlines the issue of Seven Locks, which is sharing information," says Navarro. "Who is deciding what options are better than another?"

Ervin is just as upset. "The board's self-proclaimed leader goes to the County Council on behalf of board members, and we have no idea what is in these documents," Ervin says in the article.

Cox counters, "There was no way for the board to meet again to rehash our experience on the issue."

Board member Patricia O'Neill admits the board never met, but blames Navarro and Ervin for not speaking up in advance. Concludes the Post: "it is clear Navarro and Ervin's comments touched a nerve."