Hogan to appoint Education Inspection General to investigate claims of fraud

Amidst several allegations of corruption levied against regional school districts in Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan has called for the implementation of a Education Inspection General with the function of oversight over the schools. The suggestion from the Governor comes after several controversies including Baltimore County failing to disclose that its leaders were part of a contracting company that supplied schools and alleged grade fraud in Prince George’s County. This was only a part of a much larger proposal Hogan called for: the Accountability in Education Act, which included several of these watchdog programs.
Already Governor Hogan has experienced opposition to his proposal, and the argument seems to be largely partisan in nature. The majority of the state legislator has condemned the Governor for overreach, saying that the schools should deal with the matter internally. They also argue that rather than trying to solve problems that have already been dealt with, the money is better off being spent trying to improve the schools and the curriculum. Those officials in the Governor’s party argue that such a measure will be able to protect against further problems in the school boards and will provide a better channel of communication between the state and the public.
Another group of dissidents of Governor Hogan’s proposal are the school boards themselves, who Hogan directly targeted. The Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) released a short memo after Governor Hogan’s announcement. The memo states that while it “supports strong accountability for school systems regarding student achievement and success” it “questions the need for an ‘investigator general’ as proposed by the Governor’s recently announced Accountability in Education Act.” The Association cites its concern with the act in both its necessity and in its monetary cost. The MABE maintained that problems in the school districts were not large enough to warrant the strong suggestions called for by Governor Hogan. It also voices concern with how the legislation will affect the taxpayer saying in the memo that the MABE’s priority is, “managing taxpayer dollars in the best interests of the students.”
In order for Hogan to be allowed to create this new position, a vote must be held by the Maryland General Assembly. It is with their approval, as well as the state legislators, that Hogan’s Act will pass and the new position of Education Inspection General will be created.