PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - A state investigation has not substantiated claims that a Somerset County Board of Education member violated residency rules, but the case is now being referred to the Maryland State Board of Education for further review.
The Maryland Office of the Inspector General for Education released its findings Wednesday, Jan. 7, after investigating whether Board member Andrew Gleason still lives within the commissioner district he represents, a legal requirement under state law.
The complaint alleged Gleason no longer resides in Commissioner District 1, which would disqualify him from serving on the board. Investigators say they reviewed voter records, tax filings, property deeds, motor vehicle records, utility information, and conducted interviews and site observations.
According to the report, Gleason is connected to two homes in Somerset County, one in District 1, which he lists for voting and motor vehicle registration. The other home is located in District 3. The Inspector General’s office says Gleason purchased it in December 2023 and self-declared it as his principal residence in some tax and court records
Despite those conflicting filings, however, investigators concluded they could not prove Gleason abandoned his District 1 home. Maryland officials say their investigation indicated Gleason lives at the District 1 address, while the District 3 property appeared unoccupied during site visits.
While the allegation itself was not substantiated, investigators noted inconsistencies in how Gleason reported his residence to different government agencies.
Because of those discrepancies, and because Gleason reportedly declined to participate in an interview, the Inspector General is referring the matter to the State Board of Education to determine whether where he lives complies with Maryland law.
Under state statute, a school board member who no longer resides in the district they represent may not continue to serve.
The Inspector General has now asked the State Board of Education to review the findings and respond by February 6. Any final determination on Gleason’s eligibility now rests with that board. For now, the Inspector General says the evidence does not support removing Gleason from office, but stops short on fully closing the door on the issue.
The Somerset County Board of Education sent their response to the investigation via their attorneys on Jan. 8. The Board questioned why the OIGE conducted their investigation in the first place, saying Gleason's driver's license has shown that he has resided at the same address for over ten years. The address is the same as reported on his Maryland Voter Registration form and Maryland Board of Elections Disclosure Form, the BOE says.
"Sadly, the only inconsistencies for the OIGE are his own false assumptions that one cannot live in a district unless he owns a property," the Somerset BOE response reads. "Clearly it never dawned to the OIGE that Mr. Gleason could be a renter and a tenant and not an owner to reside in CD1. So then, the OIGE engaged in an investigation of an innocent third party-owner who has been renting his property to Mr. Gleason for over 10 years. The undersigned attorney for the Somerset County spent time and resources reading the case law the OIGE cited which does not even apply to the matter at hand and is quite the opposite. Nothing in the OIGE’s Report shows any wrongdoing by Mr. Gleason or any Board member or the Board as a whole."
The Board goes on to argue that the OIGE did not contact the owner of the District 1 property that Gleason rents, as the owner would have told investigators that Gleason had been living in the same home and paying rent for over a decade, according to their response.
"Instead, the OIGE’s Investigative Report provides property details of an innocent owner not tied to, or related to the MSDE or Somerset County Board of Education," the Board's letter reads. "OIGE went into this man’s financial records and published third party information to MSDE for no reason other than to show his faulty logical reasoning that if someone else owns a property in which Mr. Gleason resides, this must mean that there is something suspicious or criminal."
Gleason also submitted a signed affidavit on Thursday in response to the OIGE's investigation affirming he had lived at the same District 1 address for years and had not occupied the District 3 as a residence at any time.
This article has been corrected to reflect that the OIG's report connected Gleason to the District 1 property, but he is not listed as the owner.