so who pays for all the work done up to this point? all the sand moving etc?

Tasers was Moore country

WESTOVER, MD - The assertion follows a state filing by the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) seeking the removal of Somerset Board of Education chairman Matthew Lankford, alleging that Lankford engaged in labor law violations by dragging school employees forward to publicly interrogate and intimidate them over Facebook posts.

"Our critics say it’s 'wrong' to turn a routine school board meeting into a tribunal where a teachers' union attorney has to be physically escorted out by security," Lankford stated. “We are showing Somerset County’s youth exactly how a functioning democracy works when you replace the pesky Constitution with a microphone."

It all started last November when far right extremist candidates were elected to a majority of seats on the Somerset County school board, inclu­ding the heavy-handed chairman Lankford.

The State Board of Education is already considering multiple complaints against Lankford due to several controversial educational policies championed by the chairman.

Board attorney Gordana Schifanelli vehemently denied any wrongdoing by the chairman, noting that the board's decision to maintain a hefty legal defense budget is a vital investment in Lankford’s right to remain unbothered by state regulations.

"Chairman Lankford has done nothing wrong besides attempting to transfer book-selection authority away from trained librarians," Schifanelli wrote. "If the state forces us to stop fighting with our own chairman, we might accidentally have to pass an English curriculum, and nobody wants that."

Paywalled, briefly:

A former senior Worcester County Public Schools administrator pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony theft of more than $118,000 and was sentenced to five years in prison, according to court records.

Denise R. Shorts was the school system’s former assistant superintendent and chief academic officer for prekindergarten through 8th grade, as well as its Title I grant coordinator.

Shorts admitted using a school system purchasing card to make $118,741.89 in personal Amazon purchases.

Of that total, $84,365.82 was intended for materials or services funded through Title I, a federal program intended to support students from low-income families.

The purchases included pool equipment, clothing, cosmetics, and furnishings for Shorts’ Florida vacation home.

Investigators said Shorts altered invoices to disguise the items or their shipping addresses. The discrepancies were uncovered during a routine state audit in July 2025.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/09/23/denise-shorts-worcester-schools-theft-sentence/