From the Delmarva Parent Teacher Coalition
SOMERSET COUNTY, Md. — October 24, 2026 — The Maryland Office of the Inspector General for Education (OIGE) has issued a new advisory memorandum addressing complaints about legal expenses at Somerset County Public Schools (SCPS)
The October 23, 2026, memorandum, titled Management Advisory Memorandum: Somerset County Public Schools Complaints — Managing Legal Service Expenditures and Budget Transfers, examines complaints involving the district’s legal bills and allegations of overbilling.
The OIGE found no evidence of improper or inflated legal billing in the records it reviewed.
The OIGE examined existing records, contracts, board policies, prior investigative files, active and past case dockets, and open-source data and assigned an independent auditor to review the legal fee invoices paid by Somerset County Public Schools.
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This in-depth review revealed that “Rather than reflecting inflated billing rates or improper hourly charges, the increased amount of legal services costs appears consistent with the volume of legal matters involving Somerset during this specified time period. Therefore, the OIGE is formally declining to initiate an investigation into the Law Firm’s billing practices.”
Gordana Schiffanelli, Esq.
The Somerset County Board of Education is thrilled to work in a collaborative manner with the OIGE’s office to update its Management System for expenditures and intra-categorial transfers and to upgrade its system, which has not been updated for over 20+ years.
The Somerset County Board and the undersigned counsel is impressed with the new OIGE and her team, and we are looking forward to improving and modernizing the process and internal controls under the law.
Just this year we updated Subtitle 12 of the Maryland Education Article, which has not been updated in over 20+ years.
This Board and the team that Superintendent Bromwell put in place are ready to tackle the next challenge and update the management practices in the Finance Office.
-Gordana Schifanelli, SCBOE Attorney
Here is the OIGE's MANAGEMENT ADVISORY MEMORANDUM:
Fellows & Editors
October 24, 2026. Copyright DelmarvaPTC.org
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