Montgomery County Public School cuts Chief Medical Officer position after 2 years

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. ( DC News Now ) – Two years after the Chief Medical Office (CMO) position was created at Montgomery County Public Schools, (MCPS) the school system decided to cut it.

Dr. Patricia Kapunan assumed the role in 2022 which was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. And while the CMO position was meant to help with post-pandemic challenges. It evolved to assist families with specific health needs, bolster the knowledge of school staff members and focus on overall employee health and safety.

Andrea Levy has a 14-year-old son who is a student at MCPS with various medical needs. She worries about the elimination of the CMO and her five-person staff.

“My son is special needs,” Levy said. “He uses a manual wheelchair. If he goes into seizure or multiple seizures a day, how is the school going to be able to handle that? In my opinion, I don’t believe that the school district, especially with the cuts that they’ve been making, is able to handle that.”

Courtney Evans’ daughter cannot attend school in person due to her medical condition. She said Kapunan was a valuable resource for families.

“Her commitment to kids and just her joy in helping them and being a part of the process, I don’t know how they will replicate that, honestly. In addition to needing a Chief Medical Officer, she was top notch,” Evans said.

Some people think eliminating the position was the right decision, recognizing it may have been good to have, but not a top priority for the school district.

“This is great news,” one person said.

Another person says MCPS has spent “massive amounts of money not on making education better.”

DC News Now reached out to MCPS and it responded with a statement. The full statement can be found below:

“MCPS established the role of Medical Officer to provide essential expert medical advice in response to the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Medical Officer’s guidance was instrumental in making critical operational decisions to safeguard the health and safety of students and staff during that extraordinary time. We have always and continue to collaborate closely with the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure the well-being of our school community.”

Montgomery County Public Schools

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