WORCESTER COUNTY, Md. -- Every single principal in Worcester County has come to the defense of district leadership. They are hammering home the point that their schools are safe after criticism from law enforcement.
The principal at Snow Hill Middle School, Matthew Record, said they have proof that the schools have made progress. Record said the letter points out specific safety measures like vape detectors and protective shield.
However, Sheriff Matt Crisafulli and State's Attorney Kris Heiser told us they feel the letter is more of a distraction and detracts from the real issue at hand.
This months long saga began with a letter from law enforcement last October. It came to a head this week with a letter penned by all 14 Worcester County principals.
Record said it was written to defend Superintendent Lou Taylor and Chief Safety Officer Annette Wallace. But, it was also in response to a press conference held by law enforcement early last week.
"Finger pointing and semantics about semantics are not going to lead us to the solution that we want for our students and our next generation of community leaders," said Record.
Record also said the letter highlights the efforts to combine accountability and the proper resources through restorative practices.
"That does not take the place of consequences," said Record. "That does not mean that we don't follow our policy and procedures, we do that, that's why we have safe schools," said Record.
But State's Attorney Kris Heiser said the letter appears as more of a defense mechanism, rather than proof of actual progress.
"This being on defense, it's not a good look, it's not going to move to ball forward," said Heiser. "Just defending at all costs means the cost is the safety and we can't have that."
Sheriff Matt Crisafulli said they were hoping to see more implementation of several suggestions put forth by law enforcement.
"We had the vision that they were going to start implementing these," said Crisafulli. "We were going to be able to sit down at the table with them and start moving the trajectory of the schools in the safest possible direction.
We did ask both law enforcement and Snow Hill's principal where they go from here. Their answers were relatively similar. Both sides said they need to work together to find solutions for their common goal of making and keeping schools safe.
