As Baltimore County’s state legislators mull whether to expand the county inspector general’s oversight to the public school system, advocates are saying the move would increase transparency and accountability.
The Senate version of the legislation, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Carl Jackson, who represents eastern Baltimore County, would allow the County Council to enact a law expanding the inspector general’s authority to the public school system. However, it would not mandate it. Republican Del. Ryan Nawrocki is sponsoring the House version of the bill.
“Good oversight protects everyone,” Jackson said at a county Senate delegation hearing Monday. “It protects the taxpayer, it protects employees who want to do the right thing, it protects leadership from rumors and speculation, and, more importantly, it protects the reputation of the school system itself.”
Baltimore County Public Schools, one of the state’s largest school districts, typically receives a plurality of the county’s budget. In fiscal 2026, for instance, the school system received more than $2 billion of the county’s nearly $4.8 billion budget.
The legislation comes several months after the Baltimore County Council approved a resolution in a 6-1 vote that urged the General Assembly to extend the inspector general’s oversight to the county’s public schools. Council Chair Mike Ertel, a Towson Democrat, called the measure an “instance of good government” at Monday’s hearing.
Bill gathers support
The bill is backed by the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, the League of Women Voters of Baltimore County, several school board members and Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Cumming.
TABCO President Kelly Olds said giving the future nine-member council the option to expand oversight would reassure families.
“Over 100,000 families entrust their children to Baltimore County Public Schools,” Olds said. “The possibility of an additional set of eyes making sure that everything is right puts people at ease.”
Richard Henry, the state’s inspector general for education, is also supporting the bill. As the statewide education watchdog, his office is responsible for examining and investigating all county boards of education, school systems and schools that receive state funding across Maryland.
Outlining the proposed changes
The change to the inspector general’s oversight would not go into effect until 2027. Additionally, the state office and the Baltimore County inspector general’s office previously had an understanding to work together on certain cases, as the county inspector general could not independently launch school-focused investigations.
Henry said Monday that the agreement expired 30 days after Kelly Madigan, the county’s inaugural inspector general, resigned in January, though James Benjamin, the county attorney, is currently reviewing it for possible renewal. Deputy IG Steve Quisenberry currently runs the department as the county searches for a replacement.
The state office has previously investigated BCPS. In December 2021, for instance, Henry found that the school board violated state law in 2019 when it used outside counsel to help with its search for a new superintendent. In January 2023, the office found that the school system was partially at fault for a 2020 ransomware attack that disrupted school operations.
Henry said he’s received more than 250 complaints involving the Baltimore County school system since taking office in 2020, averaging 50 to 60 annually.
The expanded oversight powers would likely mean increased funding for the inspector general’s office, too.
In fiscal 2025, the Baltimore County inspector general’s office had a roughly $874,000 budget, according to the office’s 2025 annual report. It spent about $789,000.
To accommodate the additional workload, the county anticipates hiring five additional employees: three investigators, a management analyst and an administrative assistant. The county estimates that those positions would cost more than $750,000 annually — nearly doubling the office’s existing budget, according to the bill’s fiscal note.
Actual costs would depend on how many school-focused investigations the office conducts, as well as the extent that the inspector general could shift existing staff to investigate school matters, per the fiscal note. The likely budgetary increase would be delayed until the council makes a decision on the expansion.
If the law is approved by the legislature and, eventually, by the council, Baltimore County wouldn’t be the first jurisdiction with an inspector general whose purview extends to the schools. In 2020, the General Assembly authorized the Montgomery County Council to enact a law expanding its inspector general’s authority over the Montgomery County Board of Education and that county’s public schools.
The bill will be heard in the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment committee on Wednesday.
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