Author: Delmarva Parent Teacher Coalition

Somerset County Board of Education recently hired Schifanelli Law LLP to represent the county in all legal matters pending before the local Board of Education. Lacking a full understanding of the matter, some of the less informed citizens appeared to criticize the Board of Education for hiring the law firm. What they failed to investigate before arriving at the public Board meeting (while intent on showcasing their own misconceptions) is that Schifanelli Law ranks among Maryland’s top firms in government litigation and has made historic contributions to the state’s legal profession. While the citizens of Somerset County attended the local…

I will never forget the year that our local school system decided to give every incoming 9th grader in the county a laptop computer for use in and out of school. It was called the “one to one” project and it was promoted by our Superintendent as the greatest thing ever in education. It would make student achievement soar. There were many in the system that questioned the project since the Superintendent at the time, Karen Salmon, seemed in a hurry to get the program running. Our county, Talbot, was an early adopter of the initiative in Maryland. There…

Article Written and Contributed by the Delmarva Parent Teacher Coalition The long and turbulent saga within Somerset County Public Schools has finally reached its conclusion, resulting in a victory for students, parents, and teachers. The Superintendent is now gone, leaving behind a trail of damage to the school system’s leadership, finances, and overall stability. It all began when the new Board of Education was elected. From day one, the Superintendent clashed with the Board on nearly every issue – like taking an entire year to issue a proper dress code and months of infighting over who owns the budget. In…

Contributor: Delmarva Parent Teacher Coalition Somerset County Superintendent Ava Tasker Mitchell Just a few months into Matthew Lankford’s elected term as a new Board member and to serve as Board Chair, the superintendent did not agree with the direction of the Board and their policies. As a result, she filed an Affidavit on May 10, 2025 with the Maryland State Department of Education with an array of illegitimate complaints and allegations against Lankford hoping to have him forcefully removed from office and his leadership role as Chair. The Board did not receive notice of the filed affidavit from the Maryland…

During September, a Worcester County Public Schools STEM teacher who teaches at Worcester Technical High School allegedly made a hateful facebook post in response to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, claiming that Trump is a pedophile, all of his supporters (including Charlie Kirk) are pedophile supporters, and all deserve death. The Facebook Post Above Was Shared Online After The Death of Charlie Kirk In response to several complaints from parents and members of the community, the teacher was put on administrative leave. At the beginning of October, the Superintendent has since allowed the teacher to return. Since the district uses restorative practices,…

Delmarva Parent Teacher Coalition Since January 2025, we have become aware of multiple instances in which confidential matters concerning the Somerset County Board of Education and Somerset County Public Schools were improperly disclosed to the Somerset Education Association and subsequently circulated on social media by its members and supporters. Based on the nature and timing of these disclosures, we suspected that Superintendent Ava Tasker-Mitchell was the source of the leaked information. To investigate this concern, a lawful Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) request was submitted to the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) seeking correspondence between Superintendent Tasker-Mitchell and the…

Delmarva Parent Teacher Coalition When it comes to curriculum, the State of Maryland has resorted to threats and overreach, using unethical tactics to force its liberal agenda on local Boards of Education. The political weaponization of state agencies has become unmistakable, exposing the state’s errors, missteps, and partisan motives. Counties are being pressured and harassed simply for refusing to adopt the state’s preferred curriculum vendor. Yet the state’s demands are highly inappropriate, as they ignore local authority, are misrepresenting the purpose of a grant, and imposing an agenda that has nothing to do with improving education. Understanding the Maryland Education…

From the Delmarva Parent Teacher Coalition Somerset County Board of Education is facing relentless criticism and pressure from all agencies within the state of Maryland because of their compliance with the Federal Department of Education’s and President Trump’s Executive Order regarding “NO DEI” in education. It all started in February 2025 when the newly elected board members unanimously executed the Federal Department of Education’s letter affirming compliance with Title VI, IX and all applicable Supreme Court Precedents. Somerset: First MD District to Sign Federal Title VI Certification to End Discrimination At that public meeting, the Superintendent of Somerset refused to…

Article from the Delmarva Parent Teacher Coalition Somerset County Voters Made Their Choice — And It Was Clear In the November 2024 election, the voters of Somerset County shifted the school board to a conservative majority. They did so with a mandate: to improve school safety, academic performance, curriculum, family rights in education, and equal educational opportunities. They also voted to put an end to discriminatory practices disguised as “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI). The results were clear — and the backlash that would come was predictable. When political opponents grow desperate, they resort to their oldest tactic: playing the…

Please Follow us on Gab, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, GETTR, Truth Social, Twitter, Youtube The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), often referred to as the “Big Beautiful Bill” (BBB), includes provisions for a federal school choice program, primarily through the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA). The specific language related to the school choice provision in the BBB focuses on establishing a federal tax credit program to incentivize donations to scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs), which then provide scholarships to families for various educational expenses. Below is a summary of the key language and details based on available information: ### Key Language of the School Choice Provision in the…