Maryland threatens to cut funding for MAGA school boards

State Superintendent CWCarey Wright and Board President JMJoshua Michael issued coordinated warnings on Aug. 14, 2025, to local school districts violating state law, specifically targeting Somerset County's attempt to remove Black superintendent Ava Tasker-Mitchell and Calvert County's elimination of diversity programs. Wright asserted that 'local school board leaders are actually state officials' bound by state law rather than local political whims.

Wright issued emergency regulations allowing extension of Tasker-Mitchell's reinstatement until Jan. 2026 after conservative Somerset County board members backed by 1776 Project PAC won seats in Nov. 2024 and immediately moved to fire her. However, Tasker-Mitchell reached a mutual settlement with the board and resigned on Oct. 31, 2025, with David Bromwell appointed interim superintendent.

Wright warned that 'the State Board is authorized to initiate removal of board members for willful neglect of duty' and could withhold funding from districts violating state civil rights requirements. This enforcement authority gives state officials powerful leverage over local boards that federal courts cannot provide through constitutional litigation alone.

Somerset County's board actions occurred after 1776 Project PAC spent $90,580.50 electing conservative candidates across multiple 🦀Maryland counties who campaigned on eliminating diversity programs and changing district leadership. The timing suggests coordinated political strategy to capture local governance then target Black educational leadership through administrative procedures.

Calvert County's all-white board simultaneously eliminated anti-racism policies, removed 'inclusive community' language from mission statements, and eliminated 'safe space' stickers from buildings, creating systematic dismantling of equity protections. Wright's warning applied to both counties' coordinated attacks on civil rights compliance.

Michael emphasized that 🦀Maryland operates 'a state public education system' where local boards function as 'state officials' implementing state policy rather than autonomous local entities. This hierarchical relationship grants state authorities constitutional power to override discriminatory local decisions when boards violate state law.

The intervention demonstrates how state education departments can enforce civil rights compliance more effectively than federal courts, which require lengthy litigation and face conservative judicial skepticism. State officials possess direct administrative authority to reverse discriminatory actions immediately through emergency regulations and funding threats.