WORCESTER COUNTY, Md. - The Worcester County Public Schools Board of Education released a statement Friday that extends an open invitation to the Worcester County Sheriff and Chief Deputy to discuss the execution of the Memorandum of Understanding as a result recent safety concerns.
"We recognize that this continued public debate on school safety is not conducive to restoring the partnership between our entities." said the board of education. "It stands to further incite fear in our students."
The board of education held a press conference Friday regarding school safety as the state's attorney continues to argue that there is an increase in school crime.
On Tuesday, State's Attorney Kristin Heiser and Worcester County Sheriff Matt Crisafulli released new information that raised concerns around school safety in Worcester County Schools. Lou Taylor, the superintendent for the Worcester County Board of Education, responded to the criticism Friday.
“I was saddened and frankly appalled to see our elected law enforcement leaders choose to manipulate student referral data in attempt to say our schools were hotspots for assaults,” Taylor said.
A presentation from the board of education on March 1 states that from the year 2022 to 2023, "the school system placed a renewed focus on reporting, leading to this year-to-year increase."
Courtesy of Worcester County Board of Education.
Carrie Sterrs, with the Worcester Board of Education, said this data is in direct opposition to the state's attorney and sheriff's assertions that crime is on the rise in Worcester schools.
Shortly after the board's presentation, Crisafulli and Heiser released a statement saying it confirmed that crime is rising in schools at an unacceptable rate and demonstrates a lack of implementation of recommendations from law enforcement. They called on the board to take immediate action on these recommendations to improve school safety.
"The Board of Education president and superintendent's attempt to defend their reputation and minimize the amount of violence in our schools does nothing to reassure the public that they are making safety a priority," the statement continued. "Despite their best efforts to label the sheriff and state's attorney as liars and data-manipulators, their press conference today confirmed the two main points that law enforcement has been making for months."
This started in Jan. 2023 when Worcester Schools' chief safety and academic officer began work to with law enforcement to assess safety.
