Montgomery County Inspector General Megan Limarzi got 378 calls on her hotline last year — and more than a third of them were about the county’s public schools.

Since her appointment in 2019, Limarzi’s office has caught the school system wrongly withholding millions in health insurance overpayments, paying more than 1,600 traffic citations for school vehicles, and using a shortcut to hire a crisis management firm. Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland’s largest district, eats up so much of their time that Limarzi has lobbied for another staff member to handle those investigations.

Montgomery County’s inspector general — charged with stopping fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer funds — is the only office of its kind in Maryland that acts as a watchdog for its county school system. That could soon change.

This summer, the Baltimore County Council called for the same setup, arguing that the biggest spender of county funds needs extra oversight — especially after an unprecedented budget request earlier this year. If state legislators go for it, the inspector general’s office would likely need more staff, which some groups say would be worth the expense to rebuild public trust in the school system. Others call the idea an unnecessary waste of resources.

Here’s what to know about how the counties root out fraud now and what changes could mean for schools:

What does an IG do?

Maryland’s inspector general offices field complaints about wasteful spending, fraud and misconduct in government, then investigate and publicly report their findings.

Baltimore County’s independent inspector general office, run by Kelly Madigan, was created in 2020. Recent findings include a county government employee improperly using a county vehicle for personal and political campaign purposes, corrections officers obtaining a federal COVID loan for a business that did not exist and a trash hauler’s tipping fee scheme that cost the county thousands.

Her office received 261 complaints in fiscal 2025 and opened 15 investigations, an annual report stated.

Madigan and Limarzi are two of three local inspectors general in the state. The other, Isabel Cumming, investigates Baltimore city government. A fourth is on the way in Howard County.

However, there’s also an education watchdog on the state level who investigates all 24 Maryland school districts: the Office of Inspector General for Education run by Richard Henry.

Limarzi collaborates with Henry’s office, he said. He also has a memorandum of understanding with Baltimore city and county offices that says they can work on matters together if needed.

His office received 407 complaints in fiscal 2024, according to his latest annual report. Only 22 came from Baltimore County while 68 came from Montgomery.

Why would schools need IGs from both the county and state?

In Baltimore County’s case, council members pointed to a “very public controversy” over the school budget earlier this year.

Superintendent Myriam Rogers asked for an unprecedented $105 million more in county funds than the school system received the year prior. That’s despite County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s warning that she wouldn’t approve it. Klausmeier gave $29 million more instead, resulting in school staff not getting the raises they were promised.

The school system enrolls 110,000 students, making it Maryland’s third-largest. It receives half of the county’s funding and “should also be subject to the independent oversight,” council members wrote in an August resolution.

Julian Jones disagrees. The council member and county executive candidate said he thinks the additional oversight is redundant and noted that it would cost the county money to expand the inspector general staff. Besides, the superintendent is already transparent, Jones said.

Rogers didn’t take a stance when asked if she supported the resolution at an August news conference. She said she regularly meets with council members, the county executive and state lawmakers to share what’s happening in schools.

Since then, community members have picked sides.

Marietta English, speaking on behalf of the Baltimore County NAACP branch during a September school board meeting, said her organization opposes the resolution. She called it “totally unnecessary,” considering that the school system employs internal auditors and the state has an education inspector general.

“Adding another layer would divert resources away from classrooms and student support,” she said.

But the Randallstown NAACP branch, the county teachers union and the League of Women Voters support the resolution. The groups point to a ransomware attack that cost millions, an investigation that determined that the superintendent didn’t move to the county by the deadline in her contract, and the failed salary-raise deal.

More oversight “will help strengthen operations, protect resources, and rebuild public trust at a time when concerns have been raised about how education dollars are managed,” the League of Women voters wrote in an August statement.

How is an IG different from a school system auditor?

Internal auditors also look for waste, fraud and abuse. In Baltimore County, for example, an April report revealed that three National Board Certified teachers received pay incentives they were not qualified for that amounted to over $28,000.

The internal auditors office is described as independent, but it reports to the school board.

“When you have a complaint-driven system, having somebody outside of the department auditing and doing that investigation is key,” said Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart, who also chairs the council’s audit committee.

She said that Limarzi’s work was critical in the investigation of a middle school principal found to have sexually harassed several colleagues. Limarzi’s office also found that gaps in reporting policies allowed the behavior to slip through the cracks, and that the school system had misused funds to respond to media attention on the high-profile case.

How might things change in Baltimore County?

Any jurisdiction interested in extending the inspector general’s authority to the school system should carefully consider whether they have the resources to do this effectively, said Limarzi.

“It requires a lot of change and cooperation through a lot of people,” she said. “You would need to really make sure that the law protects the independence of the Office of the Inspector General and also very clearly outlines their roles, responsibilities, their authority over the school system and their access to information and people.”

Carl Jackson, a state senator representing Baltimore County, is working on legislation to expand the county inspector general’s authority. A spokesperson declined an interview on his behalf.

This isn’t the first time this kind of bill was attempted. Eric Ebersole, a Baltimore County state delegate, withdrew his inspector general bill in 2021. His reasoning mirrors what others have said: It “seemed duplicative” and a lot to put on a new inspector general office at the time, he said.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.