The chair and vice-chair of Baltimore City’s school board resigned Tuesday, ushering in new leadership in a sudden shuffle.

The board of commissioners announced the resignation of Ronald McFadden and Shantell Roberts in an email around noon, marking an end to over five years of service for each.

In a special meeting that night, remaining commissioners elected Robert Salley, a former city teacher, and Ashiah Parker, director of the No Boundaries Coalition, to fill the gaps until June.

According to reporting by The Baltimore Banner, these high-profile resignations came after some commissioners challenged McFadden and Roberts for leaving them “in the dark” about negotiations surrounding CEO Sonja Santelises’ contract.

In October, the board voted to extend Santelises’ tenure, already the longest for a city superintendent in decades, through June 2026. McFadden and Roberts were two of three members to vote against the measure.

“I thank Commissioners McFadden and Roberts for their service to our schools and community,” Santelises said in an emailed statement to WYPR. “I look forward to working with their successors to continue our shared mission of equipping our students with the tools they need to excel in college, career, and life. Together, we remain committed to the success and well-being of our young people."

McFadden and Roberts, as well as other school commissioners, were unable to be reached for comment.

Since the summer, the Baltimore Teachers Union has been petitioning the board to conduct a “public, transparent, national” search for the district’s next CEO — which leaders said did not happen during Santelises’ appointment in 2016.

Mayor Brandon Scott, a verbal supporter of Santelises, will now appoint two new members to serve on the school board. The three members he appointed this summer voted in favor of extending the CEO’s contract in October.