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This letter is to serve as a formal request for a follow-up investigation by the Maryland State Department
of Education (MSDE) into allegations regarding the Prince Georges County Public Schools (PGCPS)
high school graduation rates since my arrival.
Prince Georges County Board of Education Members Edward Burroughs, David Murray and Raaheela
Ahmed, joined by immediate past student member Juwan Blocker, made allegations of widespread
systemic corruption in a May 30, 2017 letter to Governor Larry Hogan, citing various unconfirmed
reports from unnamed whistleblowers with accomplices and complicity at the highest levels of the
school system. I categorically deny any accusation of a systemic effort, ordered by me or others acting on
my behalf, to promote students in order to inflate graduation rates.
I appreciate the time and resources spent by MSDE earlier this year, at the direction of the U.S.
Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, to investigate similar allegations
after receiving an anonymous claim. That investigation concluded neither grade manipulation nor bullying
occurred to alter promotion or graduation rates. Although both MSDE and the U.S. Department of
Education considered the matter resolved, the Board Members recent claims have been the subject of
media coverage and calls by elected officials for additional inquiry, giving rise to intense public
speculation. As I have stated publicly, PGCPS stands ready and able to look into these concerns. We
continue to look for ways to improve our auditing of credits and to review our student support pathways
and revisions to our grading procedures.
Despite no presented evidence of widespread systemic corruption at the highest levels of our organization,
the undersigned Board Members and I request that you conduct an additional inquiry into this work, in the
interest of transparency and accountability, to bring closure to this matter. Please know that you can expect
full cooperation from me, my Executive Team, and anyone else you deem pertinent. We will provide any
necessary accommodations to ensure that school-based and central office employees can freely come
forward.
Sincerely,
Lupi Quinteros-Grady
District 2
Patricia Eubanks
District 4
K. Alexander Wallace
District 7
Sonya Williams
District 9
Mary Kingston-Roche
At-Large
Curtis Valentine
At-Large