WESTOVER, MD - Impassioned Somerset County Public School(SCPS) parents, students and staff spoke during the Board of Education (BOE) meeting Tuesday night.
The Somerset Education Association first called on community members to wear red at school board meetings in May after Chairman Matthew Lankford proposed cutting media specialists from the FY26 budget.
All six media specialist positions are safe after the Somerset County Commissioners pledged an additional $1 million for maintenance of the effort.
Starr Mister is a Somerset County native and SCPS parent. She is concerned about the working relationship between the board and Superintendent Dr. Ava Tasker-Mitchell.
"The board is absolutely refusing to work with the superintendent," Mister said. "They even pushed a policy last night, #100-6, that eliminated keywords in COMAR (Code of Maryland Regulations) and her roles and responsibilities."
Mister is one of many who spoke during Tuesday's meeting. Randi Merritt, President of the Somerset Education Association (SEA) and an educator with decades of experience is another.
"I had the opportunity to work cooperatively with the previous Board of Education. That spirit of collaboration no longer exists," Merritt said during her public comment. "What once felt open and collaborative now feels heavy and toxic with negativity."
Other community members called on constituents to vote BOE members out in the next election cycle. Three seats will be up for reelection in 2026.
Board members discussed proposed revisions to policy #100-6, which regulates the relationship, responsibilities and roles of the BOE and superintendent.
Mister said she is concerned that dysfunctional leadership will drive away qualified educators and ultimately harm students in a county that is already struggling academically.
"If our teachers can't even speak up when they believe there's a problem, what future do we have?" Mister said. "Nobody's doing to want to come and work for our county with a board that's acting like a dictatorship."
A SEA press release Tuesday stated that "the Somerset County Board of Education has been unable to effectively collaborate with the Superintendent to finalize a school system budget," resulting in school employees not receiving their scheduled salary increases on July 1.
SEA President Merritt told WBOC that the ongoing budget issues have stalled salary negotiations, putting those expected raises at risk.
Board Chairman Matthew Lankford told WBOC on Wednesday that the board approved its proposed budget on Monday night and that board members are not involved in staff contract negotiations.
The following excerpt from SCPS policy #700-50 establishes negotiation goals and priority objectives for the BOE.
Upon request, the Board of Education of Somerset County, or its designated representatives, shall meet and negotiate with designated representatives of the employee organization, which is designated as the exclusive negotiating agent for the certificated and classified employees of the Board of Education of Somerset County on all matters that relate to salaries, wages, hours and other working conditions, as limited by law.
This language and the complete board policy #700-50 can be found on the SCPS website on the Human Resources Policies page.