Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) Office of Integrity and Compliance (OIC) has released its first report, flagging a handful of significant findings. They include “wasteful” compensation of close to $10,000 to former school board member David Murray, who stepped down after it was discovered he was living out of state and working full-time for another school district, and the “improper” payment of over $36,000 in legal fees for former school board member and now County Councilmember Shayla Adams-Stafford.
The OIC was established by Maryland law on July 1, 2023, to combat fraud, waste and abuse, following a bill sponsored by Senator Alonzo Washington. Five significant findings in its first annual report were: compensation to a “missing board member,” misuse of substitute coverage pay, improper payment of legal fees incurred by a board member, workplace accommodation issues, and payment to a contractor and remediation costs for DuVal High School’s athletic fields.
Compensation to Absent Board Member
Investigation found even before a formal complaint to the OIC, the Integrity and Compliance Officer “had already advised Board leadership regarding his observed absences of the Board member and provided written recommendations for the Board to enforce and/or strengthen the attendance policy for Board members.” The OIC report does not name the board member, David Murray, who represented PGCPS District 1 and resigned in July 2024 after it was revealed he began a new job as chief academic officer of the Ferguson-Florissant School District in Missouri in early January that year. He was also running for re-election, with his address listed as Laurel, and registered to do so after he’d been hired in Missouri. (For more see page 11 of the July 25, 2024, issue and page 6 of the August 1, 2024, issue.)
The OIC’s investigation found “the board leadership failed to promptly address violations to the Board’s attendance policy to hold the former Board member accountable … failed to pursue a timely and actionable remedy to request the Board member’s removal from the Board on the basis of willful neglect of duty” and “The Board’s omission to take prompt action on this matter created the right set of circumstances for wasteful receipt of PGCPS funds and/or property by an absent Board member in the amount of $9,792.32.”
The News Review reached out to PGCPS to ask if they planned to pursue legal action or otherwise attempt to recover from Murray the compensation he obtained through false pretense but they did not respond by press time.
Improper Payment of Legal Fees
“The OIC’s investigation substantiated allegations that legal fees incurred by a former Board member and paid by PGCPS were not for the defense of the member during litigation, as required by state law,” states the report, which summarized that “PGCPS improperly paid $36,111.92 for legal fees incurred by a Board Member.”
The fees in question were charged for legal services Adams-Stafford secured between June 2021 and July 2022. Legal counsel advised the board to pay the fees because board members have a right to have legal costs covered to defend themselves from litigation that occurs due to their role on the board. However, the OIC investigation found Adams-Stafford was not the defendant in litigation – she was the subject of an ethics investigation. She initiated a lawsuit against PGCPS for which she would be responsible for her own legal fees, and which was dismissed by Prince George’s County Circuit Court in January 2022. Legal fees for an unclear purpose continued for six months afterward, and were billed to PGCPS.
Adams-Stafford stepped down from the school board in December 2024 to run in a special election for the District 5 seat on the Prince George’s County Council, which she won in June this year. At her swearing in ceremony in June, Murray, the “absent board member” mentioned in the OIC report, was among three figures listed in the program to give “special tribute” to Adams-Stafford. The other two people giving tributes were Board of Education Member Phelton Moss (PGCPS District 6) and Executive Director of Progressive Maryland Larry Stafford, who is also her husband.
Adams-Stafford did not respond to the News Review’s request for comment on the OIC’s findings related to the legal fees she billed to PGCPS or on her decision to give Murray a role in her swearing-in ceremony this year.
Misuse of Substitute Coverage Pay
The OIC investigated how a resource teacher received their full salary in addition to substitute pay, while not performing the duties of their regular assignment. “Although no violations of policy/procedures were identified, the employee received significantly more coverage pay than all other staff,” found the OIC. Though the teacher couldn’t fulfill the duties of both their regular and substitute assignments they were “entitled to compensation for both assignments, per the negotiated agreement between the PGCPS Board and Prince George’s County Educators’ Association (PGCEA),” found the OIC. The OIC recommends “stronger language within the PGCEA agreement to ensure members fulfill the duties of their regularly assigned position in addition to any coverage assignments in order to receive compensation for both” and to decrease time increments for substitute coverage pay from one hour to half an hour for more accurate time reporting. “Such a change could lead to potential annual savings of up to $1.3 million across all PGCPS schools,” reports the OIC.
Workplace Accommodation
The OIC found an improper denial of reasonable workplace accommodations after workplace accidents, major surgery and failure to follow the process mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Their investigation determined PGCPS response to the employee’s medical leave request was “untimely,” “improperly denied the request for workplace accommodations and failed to engage in the interactive process mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).” PGCPS also failed to report the employee’s inpatient hospitalization after workplace accidents, as required by the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Program. The OIC recommended enhanced internal controls, practices and procedures related to accident reporting, medical leave requests and reasonable accommodation requests.
DuVal Athletic Field
The OIC found PGCPS paid a contractor $10,359 for work on DuVal High School’s athletic field. That contractor “used hazardous contaminated soil on the athletic field, resulting in additional expenses for remediation and legal action.” The OIC recommended internal controls to ensure inspection and approval of services after they found $265,059 in costs were absorbed by PGCPS for remediation efforts. PGCPS later sought damages via legal counsel. They also recommended PGCPS “withhold payment from contractors who fail to meet contractual obligations.”
