Investigative Audit Finds Problems in Worcester County Public Schools

A new audit by the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits has identified procurement concerns, lapses in required employee screenings, and ongoing oversight weaknesses within Worcester County Public Schools. The performance audit, dated Feb. 23, 2026, reviewed financial management practices and internal controls. Auditors examined whether the system effectively safeguarded assets and used financial resources efficiently. The review covered fiscal years 2023 through mid-2025.

The audit report can be downloaded here.

Procurement Issues Referred to State Prosecutor

Auditors identified “questionable procurement activity” involving a management employee and referred the matter to the Office of the State Prosecutor. Officials emphasized that a referral does not imply criminal wrongdoing or that charges will be filed. A separate audit report addressing procurement and disbursement findings will be issued at a later date.

Required Employee Screenings Not Always Completed

The audit found WCPS did not consistently perform legally required screenings for employees in positions involving direct contact with minors.

Of 10 employees tested who were hired after the law took effect, six had not received the required screening as of October 2025, despite having worked between 39 and 450 days. In two additional cases, screenings were completed between 73 and 392 days after employment began.

State law requires school systems to obtain written disclosures from applicants regarding prior child abuse or misconduct investigations and to contact prior employers for verification.

WCPS agreed with the finding and said it has strengthened hiring procedures to ensure screenings are completed and documented before final employment clearance.

Cybersecurity Findings Redacted

The audit included several cybersecurity-related findings, but details were redacted from the public report under state law. The redactions follow a December 2024 cybersecurity breach involving a WCPS vendor that exposed personal information of students and educators, including names, birthdates, and Social Security numbers.

WCPS was notified of the breach in January 2025 and alerted affected individuals. The vendor offered credit monitoring services.

Bus Contract Payments Lack Cost Support

Auditors also found deficiencies in how WCPS calculates payments to bus contractors.

The system paid an estimated $1.8 million in fiscal year 2024 for per-mile maintenance costs without compiling or analyzing actual cost data to support the reimbursement rate.

Additionally, auditors determined WCPS failed to exclude federal and state fuel taxes from contractor payments, even though contractors are eligible for tax credits.

Had fuel tax exemptions been factored in, payments would have been approximately $1 million lower between fiscal years 2020 and 2024, according to the audit. Similar concerns were raised in the system’s prior audit but were not corrected.

WCPS agreed to review contractor maintenance costs and examine the exclusion of fuel excise taxes, with proposed changes subject to Board of Education approval.

Weak Oversight of Health Care Claims Administrator

The audit also found WCPS did not adequately monitor its third-party administrator (TPA) that processes health care claims.

Auditors reported that WCPS did not consistently verify administrative fees and subscription charges against payroll records or independently confirm the TPA’s compliance with performance standards. Although the TPA reported self-assessed penalties of $17,008 in fiscal year 2024 for missed performance targets, WCPS had no formal process to validate those figures.

Healthcare expenditures totaled approximately $20.3 million in fiscal year 2024.

WCPS agreed with the finding and said it will coordinate with the Worcester County Commissioners, who hold the TPA contract. WCPS stated it will strengthen oversight and implement annual performance reviews.

Financial Reporting

Despite the findings, auditors reported that WCPS’ independently audited financial statements for fiscal years 2019 through 2024 reported approximately $170.7 million in total revenue and $172 million in expenditures in fiscal year 2024, serving 6,848 students across 14 schools.

Salaries and benefits accounted for 72 percent of expenditures, with total payroll costs reaching $123 million.

Auditors state that they did not identify significant deficiencies in equipment controls, facilities management, or food services financial operations.

The DPTC has found that many of these state audits are not conclusive, as they lack the financial forensics to truly see what is happening internally. Their discoveries are usually on the surface. At times, it appears there are cover-ups by the auditors to protect the state's interest and the revenue generation from certain counties.

How Did This Happen?

Worcester County Commissioner Caryn Abbott (District 1) proposed a motion on 4/1/2025 to immediately conduct an audit of WCPS, following her review of the 2010 and 2017 legislative audits, which revealed recurring findings (also present in this audit).

Prior to Abbott joining the Commission in 2018, the then Superintendent, Lou Taylor, requested that the Commissioners grant a waiver for the current 7-year cycle, potentially postponing the next audit until as late as 2032.

In light of this and other questionable matters uncovered in documents, Abbott requested to rescind the waiver and request an audit without delay. The motion was unanimously approved by the Commissioners, thereby ensuring public fiscal accountability given the county's high per-pupil funding rate.

Abbott stated that she is committed to ensuring accountability in the use of tax dollars. She also stated, "It is imperative that the issues identified, which the Superintendent and Elected Board of Education have been aware of since at least 2010, be addressed and rectified. With new leadership now in place in the Superintendent role, I hope that these issues will be fixed once and for all."

This occurred under the day-to-day operations of former Superintendent Lou Taylor. As reported in the past, the school system has faced years of financial mismanagement and questionable practices. Taylor repeatedly defended these tactics, and he is now seeking a seat on the Worcester County Commission (District 6), raising concerns that he intends to extend the same approach to county government and obscure his past actions.

A few examples from the record include:

Worcester County Citizens Exploited by Educational Foundation and Board of Education?

Worcester Superintendent Rebukes Board Member For Questioning Budget

Worcester County Commissioner Exposes School District's Secret "Slush Fund"

Worcester County Commissioner Exposes Sneaky Budget Tactic and Double Standard

Worcester County BOE Rubber Stamping The Budget?

Commissioners Reject School Funding Above MOE for lack of Transparency

Now What?

Where there's smoke, there's fire. The citizens of Worcester County need to ask their County officials for a Forensic and Performance Audit of the entire school district.

Fellows & Editors

February 27, 2026 

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