NEWARK – In the wake of law enforcement concerns related to school safety, education officials this week released a statement citing a breakdown in communication between the parties involved.
In a statement released Tuesday evening, the Worcester County Board of Education stressed that schools were not unsafe and reiterated the school system’s commitment to providing a safe learning environment for students. Nevertheless, the board said a school safety task force was being created.
“We believe this task force is the first next step to help resolve the communication issues that exist and eliminate the varied views on certain specific topics,” the statement reads. “While in the end the Board acknowledges that differences may still exist and recollections may continue to vary, but one thing is for certain: we all must do everything possible to eliminate the divide that exists and collectively work together to find common ground. The relationships are simply too important to fail. It was important to the Board that the community be made aware that we have taken this matter very seriously; we have done our due diligence, and we believe that we have found a path forward. We will be responding to the State’s Attorney and Sheriff in a letter in the coming days with more detail, but the Board wished to get this statement released as quickly and as responsibly as possible.”
On Sept. 21, Worcester County State’s Attorney Kris Heiser and Sheriff Matt Crisafulli sent a letter to the school system outlining serious concerns about the safety of local schools. Heiser said this week she’d reserve most of her comments until she’d received the letter from the school board referenced in this week’s statement.
She and Crisafulli made clear last month law enforcement have ongoing concerns about the lack of notification they receive from school officials regarding criminal activity in schools. That’s despite the fact that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the sheriff’s office and the school system in August stipulates that school staff will report crimes to school resource deputies.
“The current operation of Worcester County Public Schools does not comply with state law or the recently executed Memorandum of Understanding and, accordingly, does not prioritize student and school safety in a meaningful and practical manner,” the letter read. “As a result, law enforcement’s primary functions, including effective monitoring of safety concerns, performance of threat assessments, prevention of crime in schools, investigation of crimes committed at school or by students, and prosecution of such crimes are significantly negatively impacted, to the detriment of students and school personnel.”
The school board met with Heiser and Crisafulli Oct. 4 and subsequently met twice in closed session to discuss the concerns raised by law enforcement. At this week’s school board meeting, the issue came up multiple times. While Superintendent Lou Taylor stressed that schools were safe and that educators would continue to work diligently with law enforcement partners, area resident Pat Barbely said she’d been hearing safety concerns for years.
“We have heard of sexual assault, of students afraid to use the restrooms because of vaping and drugs, of teachers being injured trying to break up fights and of a county deputy injured and transported to the hospital after being injured by a student,” she said. “My question is why. Why would you withhold this information from the law enforcement as well as parents who have entrusted you with their precious children.”
School board member Bill Gordy, a former Maryland State Police trooper who also taught at Worcester Technical High School, said he felt there were philosophical differences between the approach of law enforcement and the approach of an educator. He stressed that the school board had confidence in Taylor and Chief Safety Officer Annette Wallace.
“So far as school safety is concerned, in our research and our investigation concerning the letter, we have found both our superintendent and our chief safety officer have been impugned in that letter,” he said. “I find that troubling. These two people are not only great leaders they are great people.”
He added that the MOU said safety concerns should go to the chief safety officer.
“If this complaint had gone to her we wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation,” he said. “It should not have been in the newspaper. It should not have been made public to this extent.”
As was stated in the Sept. 21 letter, Heiser reached out to the board when she failed to make progress with school system administration.
“The reason the letter was sent to the Board was because all of law enforcement’s efforts since 2019 to get these issues resolved have been to no avail,” she said in an email Wednesday. “Since 2019, all of the meetings, emails, phone calls, lunches, conferences, trainings, and conversations with school officials and board members (including the individuals they apparently intend to include in their newly-created task force) about the same safety issues had not produced the necessary changes. This letter is just the latest in a series of exhaustive (but private) efforts made by law enforcement to get the school system to make school safety a true priority – it was certainly not anywhere close to our first attempt at resolving these issues.”
She noted that the letter was the subject of a Public Information Act request and had to be disclosed.
“I find it revealing and disturbing that the Board’s primary concern about the letter is only that it was made public – and that they have expressed no concerns about the content of the letter or the factual information provided to the Board during law enforcement’s presentation on October 4,” she said. “Their meeting yesterday was the perfect illustration of what law enforcement has been experiencing for years – their refusal to acknowledge that a problem exists.”
The statement released by the school board after Tuesday’s meeting addresses the three meetings the board held after receiving the Sept. 21 letter.
“After spending hours on the issues raised, it is clear that very little can be presently agreed upon between the Sheriff, State’s Attorney, and our Executive Team,” the statement reads. “This is unfortunate. It is important that everyone understand that it is this Board’s opinion that this is not a matter of ‘truth’ vs. ‘fiction’ but rather a clear breakdown in communication between the Sheriff, State’s Attorney, and school system’s Executive Team. This needs immediate attention and correction.”
According to the statement the board doesn’t agree with the characterization that schools are unsafe or that there has been consistent unreported violence.
“The Board does agree however that there is room for improvement in certain areas of school safety and corrective measures have been implemented already,” the statement reads. “Additionally, we look forward to capturing further opportunities for improvement at any time as they may arise.”
The statement announces the formation of a school safety task force that will help facilitate communication and will provide an opportunity for a subject matter expert to explain the nuances of school law. The task force will also act as a liaison to the school board and make recommendations to the board. The task force will also work through the issues identified in the recent presentations.
“Board of Education Members Elena McComas, Katie Addis, and Bill Gordy have volunteered to serve on this task force alongside the Superintendent of Schools and/or Chief Safety Officer. In addition, the Board of Education invites the Worcester County State’s Attorney and the Sheriff to be active members of this task force. The Board of Education also believes that one of the initial considerations of the task force should be whether additional members should be added to the task force. It is important that all key players are active members of this group, so its purpose can be fulfilled.”
The school board’s attorney will be a non-voting member of the task force.
