Melissa Williams refused to attend student school board forum

By Ryan Miner 

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Washington County Board of Education candidate Melissa Williams refused to attend a candidate forum hosted by the Student Government Association.

According to my sources, Williams claims she had “other commitments” this evening, but according to several individuals close to Williams, she chose not to attend tonight’s SGA’s candidate forum in fear of being questioned about her close friend and Board colleague Karen Harshman’s ongoing controversy.

Williams is a key defender of Harshman, leading the charge to keep Harshman on the school board after Harshman falsely accused teachers in the school system of having sexual relations with their students. After an exhaustive investigation, the school system found that Harshman’s allegations were categorically false.

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Williams is said to be working in concert with Board member Mike Guessford to defend Harshman against critics who wish to see her resign from the Board.

Please email Melissa Williams at WilliMell@wcps.k12.md.us to ask why she snubbed the SGA forum.

Republican Club secretary Linda Murray, a Common Core State Standards supporter, also failed to attend tonight’s forum.

About the Author

Ryan Miner
Ryan R. Miner, MBA is the founder, editor in chief, and senior reporter of A Miner Detail, the Maryland investigative journalism publication he launched in April 2015. He hosts the A Miner Detail Podcast, distributed across Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and seven other platforms. A native of Hagerstown, Maryland, Miner holds a B.A. in political science from Duquesne University (2008) and an MBA from Mount St. Mary's University (2020). He teaches at Frederick Community College. He is also the founder of Sentinel Silver, LLC, Maryland's first older adult technology institute, and the publisher of The Senior Soup, a Maryland senior advocacy platform. His longer story is at ryanrminer.com. Reach him at Ryan@AMinerDetail.com or (240) 244-7075.