SOMERSET COUNTY, Md. — Somerset County, Maryland, is facing growing questions about its public school system as students continue to struggle with academic proficiency despite receiving among the highest levels of per-student funding in the state.
The district ranks last among Maryland counties in math proficiency and second to last in English language arts proficiency, according to the figures cited in the original report. At the same time, Somerset County receives approximately $24,000 per student, making it one of the state’s best-funded school districts.
For parents such as Leslie Nelson, those numbers raise concerns about whether students are receiving the education they need to succeed.
Nelson says she began teaching her 10-year-old son, Samuel Coker, to read at home before he started school.
“I didn’t really learn how to read from my teachers,” Samuel said. “I really learned how to read here.”
Nelson said she believes parents must take an active role in their children’s education, particularly when school instruction falls short of expectations.
“I don’t allow my children not to be on grade level,” she said.
She regularly purchases books and prints worksheets to supplement her children’s schoolwork, especially in math. Nelson worries that some students may not be receiving the academic support they need during the school day.
“I often say, I feel like for some subject areas they’re getting a subpar education,” she said.
Somerset and Worcester Counties Show Different Results Despite Similar Funding
The contrast between Somerset County and neighboring Worcester County has intensified questions about school funding, leadership and academic performance.
Both districts receive approximately $24,000 per student, according to the figures cited in the report. However, Worcester County, which has a substantially wealthier tax base, is Maryland’s best-performing school district, while Somerset ranks near the bottom in academic proficiency.
The funding structures also differ. Much of Somerset’s school budget comes from state taxpayer dollars, while Worcester relies more heavily on local funding.
For Nelson, the similarities in per-student spending make the differences in school facilities and resources difficult to understand.
“That’s kind of unbelievable to me,” she said of the funding figures. “If that’s the case, then why can’t we have the same types of facilities? Why can’t, you know, improvement, remodeling, new schools, new track be given to these students as well?”
Somerset County Superintendent David Bromwell, who took the position in November, said the district faces financial and educational challenges that cannot be measured by per-student funding alone.
According to Bromwell, poverty creates additional demands on school resources. He also pointed to the district’s higher proportion of students receiving special education services and students learning English.
Bromwell said state funding often comes with restrictions and additional paperwork, making it harder for the district to direct money toward its most pressing needs.
In Worcester County, property tax revenue generated by Ocean City helps ease financial pressure elsewhere in the county, he said.
“We don’t have booster clubs and a tax base where local businesses can write checks to cover a new athletic score board,” Bromwell said.
He added that major school renovations remain particularly difficult to finance, even when state assistance is available.
Teacher Turnover Adds to Concerns About Student Achievement
Staffing challenges are another concern for Somerset County schools, where teachers and administrators have left for other districts.
Washington High School & Academy has had six different principals over the past six school years, including its current principal.
Eric Thomas, who graduated from Washington High School this year and now attends the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, believes teacher turnover has a direct connection to student performance.
Thomas said he experienced classes led by long-term substitute teachers who acknowledged the challenges they faced in delivering instruction.
He graduated with a 3.6 GPA but said he was troubled by the number of his peers struggling to pass standardized tests.
“The fact that maybe only one in every 10 of them pass the test really upsets me, because I know they’re better than that,” Thomas said.
He also expressed concern that school leadership problems have weakened student motivation.
Bromwell said the district’s salary structure has made it difficult to attract and retain experienced educators.
“We were losing really great teachers,” he said, explaining that some educators left for Worcester and Wicomico counties because Somerset could not compete with their salaries.
“We weren’t even in the ballpark when it came to salary structure,” Bromwell said.
The superintendent’s comments highlight a challenge facing the district: improving academic outcomes while competing with neighboring school systems for qualified teachers and administrators.
School Board Controversies Raise Concerns About Leadership
Somerset County’s academic struggles have unfolded alongside disputes involving the school board, public records, legal spending and school library policies.
Bromwell and the school board have introduced or pursued several measures intended to improve student performance. Those efforts include holding teachers accountable, establishing an alternative program for students facing behavioral and academic challenges, and reviewing the budget to identify more efficient ways to spend public money.
However, disputes involving school leadership have continued to attract attention.
The state’s teachers’ union recently filed complaints seeking the removal of Board Chair Matt Lankford, alleging that he intimidated educators during a board meeting. The incident occurred amid an ongoing dispute over which books should be available in school libraries.
Gordana Schifanelli, the board’s attorney, told Spotlight that Lankford was attempting to answer questions of public interest during the meeting. She also disputed the union’s characterization of the board’s book policy.
Lankford previously faced a request for removal from Somerset’s former superintendent, who alleged misconduct in office, willful neglect of duty and incompetence. The Maryland State Board of Education determined that the allegations were not legally sufficient to justify his removal, while describing his ongoing pattern of behavior as “deeply problematic.”
Other concerns have included a state audit documenting years of poor financial management, a finding by Maryland’s Inspector General for Education that the board violated the law when procuring new attorneys, and an American Civil Liberties Union complaint alleging that the board withheld public records.
Schifanelli said the current board took the state audit seriously and is working to address the identified problems. She disputed the claims involving attorney selection and public records, arguing that the board has the right to choose its legal counsel and that the requested records did not exist.
The disputes have added to concerns among some parents about whether school leadership is focused sufficiently on students’ needs.
Joe Hylton, a Somerset County parent who ran unsuccessfully for the school board earlier this year, said he worries that the controversies are damaging the district’s reputation.
Hylton was removed from two board meetings last year. He subsequently filed an Open Meetings Act complaint, which the board won, and a separate complaint alleging a violation of his First Amendment rights.
“When you Google Somerset County Schools and you see the craziness that pops up and what they’re actually doing, nobody wants to come to this county,” Hylton said. “No teacher wants to come to this county and teach. No principal wants to come to this county to be a principal.”
Bromwell acknowledged that political disputes were among the concerns he considered before accepting the superintendent’s position.
“That was truthfully the one thing that almost didn’t get me from coming down here was the politics part of public education,” he said.
He said his priority is to keep the district focused on student achievement despite the disagreements surrounding school leadership.
“When you have this so-called turmoil at the top level, it does distract from it,” Bromwell said. “What I’ve tried to do is keep that separate.”
Parents and Educators Say Students Need More Support
For Washington High School & Academy Principal Curt Bunting, improving student outcomes requires understanding the challenges children face beyond the classroom.
Bunting said poverty, family instability and traumatic experiences can interfere with learning. He cited circumstances such as hunger, homelessness, divorced parents and having a parent in prison as potential barriers to academic success.
He believes supportive relationships between students and adults can make a meaningful difference.
“All it takes is one emotionally available adult in their lives,” Bunting said. “[It] makes a huge impact, and kids want the connection.”
Hylton said his own children are doing well academically, with one preparing to attend college. However, he credits their progress to a combination of parenting, tutoring from his sister and help from his wider social network rather than the school system alone.
His assessment of the district’s challenges was stark.
“Tell you the truth, our school system seems like it shows a pipeline to either go to prison or work at the prison,” Hylton said.
He added that students want better opportunities and a chance to build different futures for themselves and their families.
“They want to see something different,” Hylton said. “They want to give something different to their moms and their dads. They want to be able to say, ‘I made it.’ We’re not giving them that opportunity.”
Can Somerset County Turn Its Schools Around?
Somerset County’s academic performance, teacher retention problems and school board disputes have created a complicated challenge for district leaders.
The superintendent has pointed to poverty, staffing costs, specialized student needs and restrictions on state funding as obstacles to improvement. Parents and former students, meanwhile, have raised concerns about classroom instruction, school facilities, leadership and whether students are receiving adequate preparation for the future.
The district’s relatively high per-student funding makes the comparison with Worcester County particularly striking, but funding levels alone do not establish why academic outcomes differ. Staffing stability, student needs, local resources, school leadership and the effective use of funding may all play a role.
For Somerset County, the central question remains whether district leaders can translate available resources into stronger classroom instruction, more stable staffing and better academic outcomes.
For families such as Nelson’s, the stakes extend beyond test scores. They want students to leave school with the skills and opportunities needed to pursue college, careers and a more secure future.