Worcester Superintendent Releases Election Statement to Counter “Misinformation” with Misinformation

On October 23, the superintendent of Worcester County Public Schools made a statement on the Worcester County Public Schools facebook page to drive a false political narrative hoping to bolster the union-backed incumbent board members that are running for reelection. The superintendent declares that new candidates and their supporters have put out “rhetoric” and “misinformation,” while he uses his misinformation and rhetoric to counter facts that are all documented on the official public record. In desperation, he even tries to fabricate controversy that the school system is labeled as a “swamp,” teachers are labeled as “poisonous apples,” and students are being attacked by candidates with “hateful language against some of our most vulnerable students.” He failed to show any evidence, while politically charging the school district.

His statement reads as follows:

An Open Letter from Our Superintendent of Schools:

As Superintendent of Worcester County Public Schools, I feel it is necessary to address the rhetoric and misinformation about our schools that is circulating throughout this election cycle. While candidates are entitled to their own opinions, I will not stand idly by while our students, teachers, and staff are attacked with hateful and inaccurate discourse. To learn that some Board of Education candidates and their supporters have referred to our school system as a “swamp” that needs to be drained or implied that our dedicated teachers are “poisonous apples” or used hateful language against some of our most vulnerable students is beyond distasteful or demeaning. This rhetoric clearly shows a willful ignorance to what is actually occurring in our schools simply to mislead community members who are not connected to or informed about our schools in order to gain votes on election day.

So, let’s clear the record:

Worcester County Public Schools is the highest performing school system in the State of Maryland. While we acknowledge there is always more work to do, our success is the envy of the State, and you can see it for yourself on the Maryland State Report Card website (https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov). To get a first-hand perspective on how we support students’ success, I encourage you to speak with your neighbors and friends who are actual parents/guardians in our school system. – Lou Taylor, Superintendent of WCPS

The superintendent touts the performance of the county, and refers to the Maryland State Report Card. He was bluffing, assumed that nobody would actually look. Here’s the Worcester County data: https://bit.ly/worcesterreportcard23

For all school systems across the state, the State Report Card contains manipulated data and averages to make it appear that a school system is performing better than it actually is. Despite that fact, we’ll use the state’s data and take it for face value for Worcester schools.

Elementary schools have an academic achievement of 64%

Middle schools have an academic achievement of 58%

High schools have an academic achievement of 49%

More